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The Worlds of Gilbert and Sullivan

Giuseppe composed the operatic masterpiece Nabucco (Nabucodonosor, Nebuchadnezzar) in 1842 (the year Arthur Sullivan was born). He was persuaded against his instincts following his wife's and children's deaths to compose it to the libretto by T Solera (English translation by Norman Tucker and Tom Hammond). Its tremendous success made the young composer world famous.

The four act opera was first produced in Milan to ecstatic response. Four years later it premiered in London, and in New York in 1848. Briefly it is about the conquest of the Jewish people by Nabucco and his elder daughter Abigail, with their Babylonian armies. Set in the Temple of Solomon, Jerusalem, followed by the Babylonian Royal Apartments, then into the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, it paints a very vivid picture of the war-torn nations of that era, based on Hebrew Scripture (check Jeremiah, and Chronicles for starters). How much of this magnificent work was based on the Scriptures and historical fact, and how much was the librettist's invention? Scholars please comment.

Among the wealth of brilliant music in this opera is an outstanding chorus (the Chorus of Hebrew slaves - or Speed Your Journey), no doubt reflecting Giuseppe's feelings about freedom for the oppressed. Click above to hear a taster of this wonderland . . .

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