The Metropolitan Opera LIVE IN HD

Nabucco

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7th at 2pm Atlantic

Cineplex Cinemas at 325 Prince Street, Sydney, NS B1P 5K6

Tickets: $28

The legendary Plácido Domingo brings another new baritone role to the Met under the baton of his longtime collaborator James Levine. Liudmyla Monastyrska is Abigaille, the warrior woman determined to rule empires, and Jamie Barton is the heroic Fenena. Dmitri Belosselskiy is the stentorian voice of the oppressed Hebrew people.

OUTLINE: 

Act 1: Jerusalem, 6th century BC. The city is under attack from Nabucco (Nebuchadnezzar), King of Babylon. His daughter Fenena, who is being held hostage by the Israelites, has fallen in love with Ismaele, nephew of the King of Jerusalem. Fenena’s half-sister Abigaille also loves Ismaele but is rejected by him. The victorious Nabucco orders the destruction of the Israelites’ temple.

Act2:  Back in Babylon, Abigaille, who has found out that she is not the king’s daughter but the child of slaves, swears vengeance against Nabucco.  e High Priest of Baal off ers her the throne and proposes to spread the rumor that Nabucco has died. The Babylonians proclaim Abigaille ruler. As she is about to crown herself, Nabucco appears and declares himself not only king but god, a blasphemy for which a thunderbolt strikes him down. Abigaille is triumphant.

Act 3: Nabucco, in a state of half-madness, is tricked by Abigaille into signing the death warrant for the captive Israelites, including the newly converted Fenena. The Israelites, meanwhile, dream of their lost homeland.

Act 4: Nabucco prays to the God of Israel for forgiveness and pledges to convert himself and his people. His sanity restored, he summons his soldiers and stops the Israelites’ execution at the last moment. Abigaille takes poison and Nabucco sets the prisoners free. Israelites and Babylonians are united in praise of God.

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