Verdi's NABUCCO to Return to the Metropolitan Opera in September

Elijah Moshinsky’s classic staging of Verdi’s epic opera Nabucco returns to the Met for fourteen performances, starting September 28. In his Met role debut, Georgian baritone George Gagnidze stars as Nabucco, the imperious king of Babylon, alongside Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska reprising the role of his vengeful daughter Abigaille. Singing the lovers Fenena and Ismaele are mezzo-soprano Maria Barakova, in her Met role debut, and tenor SeokJong Baek. The South Korean baritone-turned-tenor recently drew international attention and critical acclaim for his Royal Opera House debut as Samson in Richard Jones’s new production of Saint-Saëns’s Samson et Dalila, which also marked his professional debut as a tenor. Of the debut performance, The Guardian wrote, “Baek sounds every inch the hero, his bright tenor cutting through above the dark orchestral sonorities.” Baek is also scheduled to sing Calàf in Puccini’s Turandot at the Met in the spring.
 
Bass Dmitry Belosselskiy repeats his celebrated portrayal of the high priest Zaccaria. Maestro Daniele Callegari, critically acclaimed for his conducting of Verdi’s La Traviata last season, returns for Nabucco, which will feature the ultimate showcase for the Met Chorus, “Va, pensiero.” And on October 11, tenor Rafael Davila makes his Met role debut as Ismaele.
 
Moshinsky’s production was first performed at the Met on March 8, 2001, and last appeared in 2017. The creative team includes set designer John Napier, costume designer Andreane Neofitou, and lighting designer Howard Harrison. 
 
Nabucco Broadcasts on Radio and Online
The performance of Nabucco on Saturday, January 6, 2024, will be transmitted live to movie theaters around the globe as part of the Met’s Live in HD series.
 
The October 4, October 11, December 29, and January 6 performances of Nabucco will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SiriusXM Channel 355. Audio from the October 4 and December 29 performances will also be streamed live on the Met’s website, metopera.org. Audio from the January 6 performance will be broadcast over The Robert K. Johnson Foundation–Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.
 

Photo credit: Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera