The Babylonian king Nabucco wants to incorporate the kingdom of Judah into his and destroy everyone who stands in his way. But in the end he undergoes a change of heart…
The premiere of the Erfurt Cathedral Stage Festival took place with standing ovations in the audience, which was again full.
The performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s “Nabucco” had its successful open-air premiere on Friday evening in front of the imposing backdrop of the Mariendom and Sankt Severi in the state capital of Erfurt. Among the 2000 guests at the premiere was also Bundestag Vice President Katrin Göring-Eckardt (Greens).
faith, power, love
The commissioned opera was Verdi’s first real success and is based on Bible material. The Babylonian king Nabucco wants to incorporate the kingdom of Judah into his and destroy everyone who stands in his way. It’s about faith, power and love. His adopted daughter Abigaille as well as his daughter Fenena play important roles. But in the end, Nabucco is going through a change of heart.
The impressive stage design with a wall several meters high and wide as well as a five meter high sculpture and fences took the audience to Jerusalem and Babylonia. As the legendary prisoners’ choir sang, the singers also held up scarves in the colors of the Ukrainian flag in front of blue and yellow lit churches in the background.
More performances
General manager Guy Montavon is responsible for the Erfurt opera production. The musical direction is in the hands of the chief conductor at the Erfurt Theater, Myron Michailidis. The Verdi opera was already planned for 2020, but had to be postponed due to the corona. The opera will be performed a further 20 times at the festival until August 7th. (dpa)