Nabucco

The work that launched Giuseppe Verdi’s unrivaled six-decade career in the theater, Nabucco explodes with the youthful energy of its then–29-year-old composer but also contains all the passion and heart that would make his forthcoming masterpieces so beloved by audiences. In this performance recorded as part of the Met’s Live in HD series, baritone George Gagnidze is the ruthless title character, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II, who conquers the Hebrew people and forces them into exile. Soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska is his vengeful daughter Abigaille, with bass Dmitry Belosselskiy as the Hebrew high priest Zaccaria and tenor SeokJong Baek and mezzo-soprano Maria Barakova as the star-crossed lovers Ismaele and Fenena. Maestro Daniele Callegari leads an epic staging by director Elijah Moshinsky, which also showcases the mighty Met Chorus in the soaring anthem “Va, pensiero.”