Friday, 23 June 2023

Tickets for Nabucco go on sale Monday, 26 June at 12.00

Tickets go on sale Monday, 26 June at 12.00 at Athens Festival Box Offices and online via aefestival.gr & viva.grviva.gr

The Greek National Opera is bringing its 2022/23 season to a close with Verdi’s Nabucco, conducted by Paolo Carignani and directed by Leo Muscato. This impressive production is to be presented for four singular performances –on 26, 27, 29 and 30 July 2023 at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus– starring Dimitri Platanias and Tassis Christoyannis in the title role.

Nabucco is considered one of Giuseppe Verdi’s greatest operas. The work sealed his place as the most important Italian composer of the 19th century, and itself became a symbol in the struggle for the unification of Italy. While Verdi was not the first composer to set texts of an intensely political nature to music, Italy’s greatest composer nevertheless made all the difference thanks to his musical genius; this is what gives his operas such a clear political tenor, imbuing them with the power to move the masses.

The plot concerns the Babylonian captivity of the Israelites imposed by King Nebuchadnezzar (Nabucco). When he, in a display of arrogance, demands they all worship him as their god, lightning strikes him down. Once Nabucco recognises Jehovah as the one true God, he comes back to his senses, releasing the Israelites and giving his blessing for the union of his true daughter Fenena with Ismaele, the King of Jerusalem’s nephew. Abigaille, who usurped the throne of Nabucco, also turns to Jehovah by the end.

Leo Muscato, who staged this production, is among the most dynamic, up-and-coming opera directors working in Italy today. He has proven himself tackling works by Verdi and Puccini, and has presented hugely successful productions at leading Italian opera houses (in Rome, Venice, Florence, Torino, and elsewhere). The director notes that, in his production of Nabucco, “there is no desire to conform to historical accuracy: the aesthetic identity of the settings and costumes aims at rendering an abstract place and time, so that attention is focused on the essence,” before going on to say that “the tragedy of deported and enslaved Jews reminds us on the one hand of the Nazi concentration camps’ tragedy, and on the other hand, it seems a lot like the torture systems adopted at contemporary detention camps, such as those of Guantanamo.”

The production is conducted by the Italian Paolo Carignani, one of the most important opera maestros in the world; Nabucco marks his first collaboration with the GNO.

The all-star cast features Greek and international soloists of global standing. Sharing the title role are two leading Greek baritones forging successful careers beyond Greek borders: Dimitri Platanias, and Tassis Christoyannis. Abigaille is to be played by two of the great sopranos of our times, Ekaterina Semenchuk and Olga Maslova, with the exceptional basses Vitalij Kowaljow and Petros Magoulas in the role of Zaccaria. Performing with them are the acclaimed soloists Yannis Christopoulos, Konstantinos Klironomos, Elena Maximova, Marissia Papalexiou, Vangelis Maniatis, Yannis Kalyvas, and Evita Chioti. With the GNO Orchestra and Chorus.

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Opera • Revival
Nabucco
Giuseppe Verdi
26, 27, 29, 30 July 2023
Odeon of Herodes Atticus

Conductor: Paolo Carignani
Director: Leo Muscato
Sets: Tiziano Santi / Costumes: Silvia Aymonino
Lighting: Alessandro Verazzi / Video projection design: Luca Attilii
Chorus master: Agathangelos Georgakatos

Nabucco: Dimitri Platanias (26, 29/7), Tassis Christoyannis (27, 30/7)
Ismaele: Yannis Christopoulos (26, 29/7), Konstantinos Klironomos (27, 30/7)
Zaccaria: Vitalij Kowaljow (26, 29/7), Petros Magoulas (27, 30/7)
Abigaille: Ekaterina Semenchuk (26, 29/7), Olga Maslova (27, 30/7)
Fenena: Elena Maximova (26, 29/7), Marissia Papalexiou (27, 30/7)
High priest: Vangelis Maniatis / Abdallo: Yannis Kalyvas / Anna: Evita Chioti