Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus
Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus
Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus
Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus
GENERAL PARTNER OF THE PROJECT
PARTNERS OF THE PROJECT
‘It is an opera that my artistic career started with,’ Giuseppe Verdi wrote in his autobiography. On 25 June, the Evenings of the Bolshoi Theatre at the Radziwill Castle in Nesvizh will open with the stunning opera Nabucco. The creators – conductor Aleh Lessoun, director Galina Galkovskaya, and chorus master Nina Lomanovich – will present the audience with a semi-staged version of this work, which will feature the leading soloists of the opera house, namely Stanislav Trifonov as Nabucco, Nina Scharubina as Abigaille, Andrei Valentii as Zaccaria, Aleksey Mikutel as Ismaele, Oksana Volkova as Fenena.
‘The audience missed our Evenings in Nesvizh, and so did we,’ People's Artist of Belarus Nina Scharubina says. ‘I will be very happy to plunge into this extraordinary atmosphere again. And I am especially glad that we have returned to Verdi’s beautiful Nabucco. Abigaille is one of my favourite roles. Like Lady Macbeth, it is the pinnacle of the world soprano repertoire. I have often appeared in this role in festivals, opera houses throughout the world, and of course, in our Bolshoi. It is possible to say that this part lives in me and with me. I am sure that Nabucco will sound in a special way in the scenery of old Nesvizh. And I know the director Galina Galkovskaya well to be sure she will create a real performance. I think it will be stunning.
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The opera premiered on 9 March 1842 at La Scala in Milan. It was on this March night that Verdi became famous. The Biblical story resonated in the hearts of Italians, and this piece became a symbol of hope for a better future. The story of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, who, after suffering torment, managed to repent of his sins, about the insidious Abigaille, who seeks to come to power at any cost, about the suffering of the unfortunate Jews, excited Verdi himself, and his brilliant work has left no listener indifferent for 180 years yet. Thrilling scenes, outstanding characters, grandiose choruses, prayers… Perhaps the most popular and familiar is the chorus of the Jews languishing in captivity from Act 3 “Va pensiero...”. Many years later, the melody of this famous chorus was sung by a crowd of thousands who saw off the great composer on his last journey…
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The opera has been staged twice at the Belarusian Bolshoi. In 1999, the semi-staged production was presented by conductor Alexander Anissimov, director Francesco Privitera, and chorus master Nina Lomanovich. The performers of the leading roles at that time included Yuri Bastrikov, Nikolai Moiseenko, Arkady Savchenko, Tamara Glagoleva, Tatiana Knutovich, Oleg Gordynets, Vasily Kovalchuk, Eduard Pelageichenko, Natalia Rudneva, Nagima Galeeva, etc. In 2010, conductor Viktor Ploskina became the musical director of the new production of Nabucco. The team of director Mikhail Pandzhavidze – set designer Alexander Kostiuchenko, costume designer Ekaterina Bulgakova, chorus master Nina Lomanovich – took on the creation of a full-fledged performance. The main roles were performed by Vladimir Petrov, Stanislav Trifonov, Nina Scharubina, Ekaterina Golovleva, Andrei Valentii, Eduard Martyniuk, Sergey Frankovsky, Elena Salo, Oksana Volkova, Oksana Yakushevich and others. This opera was last performed at the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus in 2016.
