Wednesday February 15th, 2023 at 6.30 pm. "NABUCCO" with the WASHINGTON CONCERT OPERA. Embassy of Italy - 3000 Whiteheaven Street NW - Washington, DC 20008. RSVP HERE. The evening is a preamble to the Washington Concert Opera’s Nabucco scheduled to be performed on March 4, 2023, in the Lisner Auditorium. For more information about this event visit here. 

The Italian Cultural Institute of Washington and the Washington Concert Opera invite you to join Maestro Antony Walker in a discussion on the historical background of Giuseppe Verdi’s "Nabucco" and in a sampling of the opera's extraordinary music to be performed by singers Natalie Conte and Gustavo Ahualli, accompanied by David Hanlon.

ABOUT THE OPERA

“My career really began with NABUCCO.” So stated Giuseppe Verdi after composing it — his third opera. NABUCCO was considered to be a masterpiece as well as the first patriotic opera of its time. While La Scala only planned on eight performances for its premiere, they went on to present it 57 times in just three months due to its roaring reception (which is still the record). Among the many recognizable arias and duets throughout Verdi’s operas, this one, set in Jerusalem and Babylon in the 500s BC, holds what might be the most famous chorus ever written (“Va, pensiero”). The piece later became an important Italian anthem.