With the enormous success of Rossini’s Mosè in Egitto, the imposing stories of the Old Testament that had been a literary source for innumerable Baroque oratorios, found a new and modest position in Romantic opera which would expand over the course of the century with significant contributions by Donizetti, Halévy, Gounod, Serov, Goldmark or Saint-Saëns, among others. Few, however, made more of this than did Verdi and his Nabucco, the first great success after a dubious start, and one which distinguished him as the symbol of the Risorgimento with the famous Hebrew Slaves chorus «Va, pensiero». Compelling as an uncut diamond, Nabucco also had three top-notch protagonists – Nabucco, Abigaille and Zaccaria–forerunners of some of the grand Verdian roles which were still to come. This Nabucco comes in the production of Andreas Homoki with the sumptuous and period piece costumes of Susana Mendoza and the minimalist stage design of Wolfgang Gussmann. The action takes place in Italy during the time of Verdi and places the focus, as of the overture, on the family relationships which constitute the real nucleus of this passionate drama.