NABUCCO S A T . 09 / 28 / 13 6:00 pre-show 7:00 broadcast
ALL FOR OPER A. OPER A FOR ALL. Opening night broadcast
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I N D E P E N D E N C E N AT I O N A L H I S T O R I C A L PA R K Verdi’s epic tale of liberation feels right at home in Old City.
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T H I S I S W H AT M A K E S P H I L A D E L P H I A G R E AT Only in our city could we gather together
Nabucco), who conquered Jerusalem and
to enjoy a landmark Italian opera about the
exiled the Jews in the sixth century BC. But,
struggle for independence while surrounded
when it debuted in 1842, the Italians identified
by the physical landmarks of our own nation’s
the captivity of the Israelites in the opera
successful bid for independence.
with their own dominance by Austrian rule.
Tonight, as we are surrounded by Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, Opera Philadelphia presents a free, open-air broadcast of Nabucco, the first great opera by Giuseppe Verdi (Rigoletto, La traviata, Aida). This marks our third year of Opera on the Mall, and the themes of Nabucco seem tailor-made for Independence National Historical Park. On its surface, the opera is about the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar (or
The patriotic chorus “Va, pensiero” quickly became a national anthem of sorts, and Verdi involuntarily became a leading figure in the movement toward a free, united Italy. His personal hero was George Washington, America’s first President whose connection to our city – he presided over the constitutional
Mayor Michael Nutter, Independence National Historical Park Superintendent Cynthia MacLeod and Opera Philadelphia General Director David B. Devan. Photo by Kelly & Massa
convention at Independence Hall – is legendary. I want to hear from you tonight as you enjoy
David B. Devan
the broadcast. Tweet us @OperaPhila and me
General Director & President
@ddevan using the hashtag #onthemall.
Opera Philadelphia
YOUR GUIDE TO OPERA ON THE MALL
C E L E B R AT I N G
Ve r d i ’s N A B U C C O | S a t u r d a y, S e p t . 2 8 Independence National Historical Park P E R F O R M E D I N I TA L I A N W I T H E N G L I S H S U B T I T L E S
OF GIUSEPPE VERDI
SC HED UL E 5:30 6:00 7:00 8:20 9:45
p.m.: p.m.: p.m.: p.m.: p.m.:
20 0 Y E A R S
Gates open Pre-show with cast interviews Performance begins Intermission (10 minutes) Performance ends
• Video interviews with cast and crew of Nabucco
was a complete failure. The
of the most influential
never to compose again until
his birth, we celebrate one
E N JOY IN G THE BROADCAST
PRE-SHOW ACTIVITIES
Two hundred years after
• Bring your blankets and beach chairs
• Nabucco crowns made from balloons for the kid in all of us (while supplies last)
• Picnic dinners encouraged
• Share your Instagram photos #onthemall
• Dogs must be kept on leashes at all times
Low-slung preferred
• Food trucks on 5th Street, between Market and Chestnut
composers of the nineteenth century, Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901). As 2013
marks his bicentennial,
the operatic world honors his contributions and
achievements with hundreds of performances worldwide. By the time he was 40,
Verdi was the most famous and most frequently
performed Italian opera
Independence Visitor Center
despondent Verdi resolved the maestro at La Scala,
Bartolomeo Merelli, forced the libretto for Nabucco on him. He was deeply moved by the Biblical story and
the opera premiered two
years later in 1842. Nabucco
enjoyed glorious success and carried Verdi’s reputation across Italy, Europe, and the New World.
composer in Europe. But
if not for Nabucco, he might
have turned away from opera
Market Street
permanently while still in his late 20s. 5th Street
6th Street
President’s House Site
Liberty Bell Center
In November of 1839 Verdi’s first opera, Oberto, conte di
San Bonifacio, was accepted at La Scala. It ran for
multiple performances and
i
was well received, winning
Chestnut Street
Independence Hall
him a contract for three
LOCATIONS
i
the composer’s wife, INFORMATION AND FIRST AID
children all died shortly after the premiere, and as a result Verdi’s second opera, the
RESTROOMS
National Gallery of Modern Art, Rome.
additional operas. Tragically, Margherita, and two young
ENTRANCE
Portrait of Giuseppe Verdi by Giovanni Boldini.
VIDEO SCREEN
comedic Un giorno di regno,
LEARN MORE ABOUT VERDI
THE STORY OF NABUCCO Fr o m t h e Te m p l e o f S o l o m o n t o t h e H a n g i n g G a rd e n s o f B a by l o n a n d t h e b a n k s o f t h e E u p h r a t e s R i v e r, w i t n e s s t h e e p i c s t r u g g l e o f a roy a l f a m i l y a t o d d s w i t h t h e i r n a t i o n a n d e a c h o t h e r, b a t t l i n g f o r p o w e r a m o n g t h e l o s t w o n d e r s o f t h e w o r l d !
WITNESS THE EPIC S T R U G G L E O F A R O YA L FA M I L Y AT O D D S W I T H T H E I R N AT I O N AND EACH OTHER The Hebrews are mustering
interrupted when Abigaille,
in battle? Can the Hebrew
their strength to resist the
Fenena’s older sister,
exiles, who long for their
fearsome Nabucco
infiltrates the temple. She
beloved homeland, break
(Nebuchadnezzar), king of
confesses her own love for
the chains of their captivity
Assyria, who has attacked
him, and implies that she has
and strike back against
their city. Zaccaria, the
the power to call a truce and
their oppressors? And what
Hebrews’ spiritual leader,
liberate his people, if only
happens when Nabucco
has kidnapped Nabucco’s
he will return her affection.
turns up very much alive?
daughter, Fenena, in an
If not, the Hebrews will be
Is it all real, or is someone
effort to end the siege. This
condemned to death.
trapped in a nightmare?
reunites her with her former
Which princess will Ismaele
lover Ismaele, nephew of
choose? Who will wear the
the king of Jerusalem and
royal crown when the High
a Hebrew military leader.
Priest of Baal announces that
Their romantic reunion is
Nabucco has been killed
Read full Nabucco synopsis
Nabucco production photos by Scott Suchman for Washington National Opera
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MEET THE CAST OF NABUCCO
NABUCCO Sebastian Catana* Baritone
ABIGAILLE Csilla Boross* Soprano
ZACCARIA Morris Robinson Bass
ISMAELE Adam Diegel* Tenor FENENA Margaret Mezzacappa Mezzo-soprano
HIGH PRIEST OF BAAL Musa Ngqungwana* Bass-baritone ANNA Angela Mortellaro Soprano
Costume designs by Mattie Ullrich; Set renderings by Thaddeus Strassberger
NABUCCO’S COLORF UL COSTUMES AND SETS Thaddeus Strassberger’s Nabucco was heavily influenced by a year the director/designer spent as a visiting artist at Milan’s La Scala opera house, where Nabucco premiered to much fanfare in 1842. There, he researched the original designs from the opera’s world premiere, and he created hand-painted backdrops for his Nabucco in that original style.
ABDALLO John Viscardi Tenor
Nabucco is a big opera featuring a big cast of more than 100 singers. In order to dress those singers, the production required the creation of more than 250 separate costumes. To design all
C R E AT I V E T E A M CONDUCTOR / Corrado Rovaris DIRECTOR & SET DESIGN / Thaddeus Strassberger* COSTUME DESIGN / Mattie Ullrich* ORIGINAL LIGHTING DESIGN / Mark McCullough* LIGHTING DESIGN / JAX Messenger*
of those costumes, Strassberger turned to someone with whom he had collaborated on ten previous operas. Mattie Ullrich has designed cutting edge costumes for opera, film, theater, musicals, dance, television and print. Having won awards on previous collaborations, the pair
CHORUS MASTER / Elizabeth Braden
went to work to create the distinctive looks for the Babylonian
*Opera Philadelphia debut
royalty, the Hebrew refugees, the Austrian opera patrons, and
P E R F O R M E D I N I TA L I A N W I T H E N G L I S H S U B T I T L E S Company Premiere New co-production with Washington National Opera and The Minnesota Opera Production underwritten by Mrs. John P. Mulroney
the many other characters. “I rely on the costume designer not only to figure out what the clothes are but to help me figure out who the characters really are,” Strassberger says. “That goes much deeper than just what they are wearing.”
How Nabucco turned Verdi into
I T A LY ’ S M U S I C A L C O N S C I E N C E Verdi’s Nabucco is perhaps best known
from their forced labor along the banks
rule. The chorus became the underground
for “Va, pensiero (The Chorus of the
of the river, the Hebrew exiles bid their
revolutionary song for the Liberal Party,
Hebrew Slaves),” which attained both
plaintive thoughts to fly “on golden wings”
and the composer’s name became
musical and political significance when
toward their beloved homeland. Legend
V.E.R.D.I., a slogan meaning Vittorio
the opera premiered in 1842.
has it that those early audiences demanded
Emanuele Re D’Italia (Victor Emmanuel
At the point in the opera when
an encore of “Va, pensiero” at Teatro alla
King of Italy), a reference to the sole native
“Va pensiero” is sung, the Hebrews are
Scala in Milan.
dynasty in Italy and the focus of nationalist
being held captive in Babylon. The
“Va, pensiero” became the Italians’
hopes for unity. The phrase was scrolled
Babylonians have threatened to kill them,
song of liberation, for, in the oppressed
which sparks an argument between the
Hebrews, they found a symbol of their
High Priest of Baal, Abigaille, and King
own longing for Risorgimento (resurgence
Nabucco. Taking a moment of respite
or reunification) and an end to Austrian
on walls and spoken in public gatherings as a buzz-word openly expressing defiance of the occupying foreign powers.
Singalong to
VA , P E N S I E R O
Italian
/
Va, pensiero, sull’ali dorate; va, ti posa sui clivi, sui colli, ove olezzano tepide e molli l’aure dolci del suolo natal!
Translation in English
C H O R U S O F T H E H E B R E W S L AV E S
Fly, thought, on wings of gold; go settle upon the slopes and the hills, where, soft and mild, the sweet airs of our native land smell fragrant!
Del Giordano le rive saluta, di Sionne le torri atterrate... O, mia patria, sì bella e perduta! O, membranza, sì cara e fatal!
Greet the banks of the Jordan and Zion’s toppled towers... Oh, my country, so beautiful and lost! Oh, remembrance, so dear and so fatal!
Arpa d’or dei fatidici vati, perché muta dal salice pendi? Le memorie nel petto raccendi, ci favella del tempo che fu!
Golden harp of the prophetic seers, why dost thou hang mute upon the willow? Rekindle our bosom’s memories, and speak to us of times gone by!
O simile di Sòlima ai fati traggi un suono di crudo lamento, o t’ispiri il Signore un concento che ne infonda al patire virtù.
Mindful of the fate of Jerusalem, give forth a sound of crude lamentation, or may the Lord inspire you a harmony of voices which may instill virtue to suffering.
The Nabucco chorus performing “Va, pensiero.” Photo by: Scott Suchman for Washington National Opera.
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P e r f o r m e d i n S e r bi an wit h Eng l i s h s u pe r t i t l e s
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COMING IN NOVEMBER: Opera Philadelphia Launches Opera in the City series with American Premiere of Svadba-Wedding Are you enjoying tonight’s opera
(Shannon Mercer, Laura Albino,
audiences an immersive operatic
experience outside of a traditional
Virginia Hatfield, Andrea Ludwig,
experience, as ticketholders will
opera house? If so, then you’ll want
and Krisztina Szabó) prepare for
join in an authentic Balkan wedding
to check out Opera Philadelphia’s new
her marriage in a raucous and
celebration after the performance,
series Opera in the City, which brings
intoxicating a cappella tour de
featuring traditional cuisine and live
the art form into the community in new
force. Opera News called the work
Balkan dance music from the West
and exciting ways.
“dazzlingly inventive,” enthusiastically
Philadelphia Orchestra.
endorsing the opera as “a piece
The one-hour opera and its
The series will launch in November with the American Premiere of composer Ana Sokolovic´‘s renowned Svadba–Wedding, in collaboration with FringeArts. On the night before
to appeal not just to new music enthusiasts but to those interested in the wider possibilities of music theatre in general.”
her wedding, Milica (Jacqueline
The production, funded in part by
Woodley) and her five girlfriends
the Knight Foundation, will offer
accompanying 90-minute wedding reception will be presented at the new home of FringeArts, at the corner of Race Street and Columbus Boulevard.
D AV I D B . D E VA N GENERAL DIRECTOR & PRESIDENT C O R R A D O R O VA R I S JACK MULRONEY MUSIC DIRECTOR
S VA D B A WEDDING
S O K O L O V I C´
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Presented with FringeArts
“ F o u n t a i n o f Te a r s ” FEB. 7–16, 2014 ACADEMY OF MUSIC
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