Opera Ballet Vlaanderen achieved an outright triumph with Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi. From the stalls to the gallery, the audience brought the house down for this production directed by Christiane Jatahy. Absolutely deserved. The production breathes, as it were, both Verdi's political abhorrence of oppression and his sense of genuine paternal love and contempt for lust for power.
No nineteenth-century composer succeeds better than Giuseppe Verdi in inextricably linking political-social aspects with personal conflicts. In the story of Nabucco, the oppression of the Jews by the Babylonian ruler is central. Through the combination with a love story, the political opposition becomes even sharper: the lovers Ismaele - Hebrew - and Fenena - Babylonian and daughter of the ruler Nabucco - belong to opposing camps. Their love is moreover thwarted by the jealousy of Abigaille, a slave who passes herself off as another daughter of Nabucco and lays claim to power. Plenty of material for a play in which political and personal aspects can be woven into a gripping story and in which Verdi's psychological approach to people and individual in this early opera reaches a first musical high point.
Va pensiero
We can hardly overestimate the significance of the choral fragment Va pensiero. Verdi composed Nabucco in a fit of enthusiasm, after a period of depression. The text of this choral fragment literally gave him wings to continue composing. It marks liberation from the depression that prevented him from being creative. At the same time, it fits in with his risorgimento commitment, the liberation of oppressed Italy from Austrian occupation. Immediately it becomes clear that the choir in this opera is actually the most important character. Director Christiane Jatahy has understood that perfectly. In a unique way, she places the choir among the audience in the hall. The surprise is great when at the first choral fragment - immediately after the overture - the choir members suddenly rise from the seats in the hall and sing. It is not only surprising but it immediately grabs you by the throat. The tone for the performance is set! At later choral fragments, the choir is also regularly placed in the hall, and let us immediately add that the choir is magnificent.
Contemporary direction with mirror effect
What makes this director's contemporary approach so strong compared to so many other "updating" productions? Christiane Jatahy stays true to the spirit of the composer. No forced references to regimes or periods, no flags or pennants. Central to it is the tragedy of the oppressed people and the tragedy of father and daughter. A sobriety that gives Verdi's music every opportunity to work powerfully.
The direction is characterized by a number of specific technical effects. The entire stage of the opera is played through to the wings. A set is absent, except for a water feature in the middle of the stage. The splashing water works in parallel with the boundlessness of emotions. Other striking props are a huge golden decorative cloth, which is given various functions, for example the wrap in which Abigaille displays her imagined royal status, and an Eastern-looking white lace cloth, which envelops from head to toe and in which Fenena appears as a bride and which, in its multiplication, creates an effect of unreality and magic. In her explanation in the programme, the director gives it a function of captivity.
A huge mirror dominates the stage. It reflects both the hall (including occasionally the audience members) and the expressions of the characters. The use of cameras in this production is not disruptive because the close-ups accentuate the psychological effects: the authority of the high priest Zaccaria, the despair and madness of Nabucco, the jealousy and rage of Abigaille, the fear and tenderness of Fenena.
Musical commitment
The performance also testifies musically to deep respect for Giuseppe Verdi. Young conductor Gaetano Lo Coco shows a deep understanding of Verdi's libretto. With great commitment, he not only animates the orchestra but also the soloists and especially the choir. He accentuates the numerous motifs that Verdi assigns to solo instruments and lets delightful passages be heard from clarinet, flute and piccolo, trombones and trumpets. The final passage, which in this production contains a small instrumental addition and a repetition of the Va pensiero choir, he conducts towards the audience. A highlight and goosebump moment of the performance.Among the soloists we heard an impressive bass voice of Vittorio de Campo as the high priest Zaccaria, who performed his role with authority and yet involvement. Daniel Luis de Vicente sang with much feeling and flexible baritone his role as a sorrowful father driven to despair and madness. Ewa Vesin had a dark mezzo as Abigaille which could sound menacing and gloomy, but had an awkward high register, and in the dramatic moments (and there are quite a few!) resulted in an ugly vocal effect. Matteo Roma put a sensitive tenor as Ismaele. The Flemish Lotte Verstaen was a touching Fenena with a clear and, where necessary, also fragile soprano voice. Beautiful!
A fine performance that well served the director's goal: communicating with today's audience.
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