Verdi Nabucco ROH

[Barbirollians]

Any reports ? I shall be up in the slips tonight . Hope the vertigo will be worth it !

[David-G]

Any reports ? I shall be up in the slips tonight . Hope the vertigo will be worth it !

Absolutely worth it. I went twice, once with Nucci and once with Domingo. Wonderful singing, wonderful conducting, wonderful chorus, stage picture quite dramatic at times. The fire effect would have done Brunnhilde proud. I thought the costumes unnecessarily dreary, which would not really have mattered, except that it was that it was impossible to tell the Israelites and the Assyrians apart. Overall it was a terrific show. It would have been nice if when Nebuchadnezzar demanded "my sword" he was given a sword, rather than his overcoat! I shall also be at the ROH tonight, but to hear Marcus du Sautoy talking about the Magic Flute.

[Flosshilde]

Absolutely worth it. I went twice, once with Nucci and once with Domingo.

Name dropper! Who was conducting?

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

Name dropper! Who was conducting?

Nicola Luisotti... and a very decent job he does. For me, the stars were the Royal Opera Chrous, on superb form. The production? Unremittingly grey:

http://www.opera-britannia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=897:nabucco-royal-opera-30th-march-2013-&catid=8:opera-reviews&Itemid=16

[David-G]

Nicola Luisotti... and a very decent job he does. For me, the stars were the Royal Opera Chrous, on superb form. The production? Unremittingly grey:

http://www.opera-britannia.com/index...iews&Itemid=16

If you don't mind my saying so, a very fine review. I agree with most of what you say. Curiously, though, the production did not bother me as much as it did you, even though I was fully aware of its shortcomings. It did not seem to me that the producer was trying to impose his own view on the work; rather, that he did not have much of a view.

I think that perhaps Stonehenge was not the intended metaphor for Act 1. A cousin if mine said to me in the interval that the blocks were undoubtedly based on the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin. Having looked this up, I can see what she meant. And though I am not sure that I entirely concur with her view, this would give some meaning to the proceedings in the first act.

I do wish though that producers would institute a moratorium on knocking things over on the stage. This time it was blocks, usually it is chairs. It nearly always looks trite.

[jean]

...it was impossible to tell the Israelites and the Assyrians apart...

Especially when the men didn't even bother to take their kippas off when they were Assyrians!

I saw it in the cinema this evening and I agree, it was absolutely terrific.

[Barbirollians]

I enjoyed it - baritenor he may be but Domingo acted the rest of the cast off the stage . Thought the Abigaille was just as she should be

[Stanfordian]

I enjoyed it - baritenor he may be but Domingo acted the rest of the cast off the stage . Thought the Abigaille was just as she should be

Hiya Barbirollians,

I my view Nabucco was one of those early Verdi operas where only limited acting was necessary. As it has already been said I would have liked the two tribes to have worn different outfits so I could have told the difference easier. My cinema was as packed as I have seen it for an opera. It is usually the plays that get that size of audiance.