Verdi - Nabucco / Muti, Bruson, Dimitrova, Burchuladze, Becaria, Pierotti, La Scala

If this recording were sound only on a CD, I wouldn't hesitate in giving it 5 stars or whatever is the maximum. This would be in spite of the fact that the libretto is hilariously fictional. It isn't even Biblical, which is another sort of fiction.I strongly recommend you get the CD set if available, and avoid this visual dog of an opera. The cast is nothing short of being in glorious voice. Ricardo Muti's hand at the podium is firm, yet flexible, bringing out the strong sense of drama in this piece. The wonder of the piece is Abigaila, a role which has ruined many a voice and which some great sopranos have refused to sing. Ghena Dimitrova has the measure of this part and sings it with great bravura. The other major parts, while not quite so challenging, are performed fully up to Dimitrova's standard. Shut your eyes, or at least don't look at the screen more than necessary to get a sense of the subtitles, and you're in for a huge treat.Well, now we have the opera itself. Plot-wise, it's a mess. Pre-20th Century opera often plays fast and loose with history, but Nabucco is in contention for being the worst piece in this category. It's about as historical as Disney's "Snow White". The title character is known in English as Nebuchadnezzar II or Nebchadrezzar - a distortion of his real name, Nabu-kudurri-usur. In the opera, he is called "King of Assyria". Yeah, sure. But in his time, Assyria had already been disposed of; he is actually king of Bab-Ilu (Babylon). In the opera he has 2 daughters (Abigaila and Faena), one adopted (presumably) and one by birth, one with a Hebrew name and the other with a name of unknown provenance. The plot is driven by the ambition of the former and the purity and sweetness of the latter. Neither of them is known to real history.Nabucco and his subjects supposedly worship the god Baal as Head God (they actually worshipped Marduk). Baal was Head God of the people of Canaan, Phoenicia, and other places in that general area. The Tanakh ("Old Testament") runs a tabloid-style story about Nebuchadnezzar going mad and eating grass and all that. In the opera Nabucco goes sort of mad (mostly by having bad dreams). This is followed in Bible and opera by a ludicrous conversion of "Assyria" to the worship of Yhwh ("Jehovah"). The Book of Jonah contains a similar howler. There is a scene in which the great statue of "Baal" crumbles to the ground, but for some reason (see below) it's omitted - greatly weakening the dramatic impact of the production.So much for the shortcomings of Verdi's librettist. We turn now to the physical production, which is where the real problems of this version of Nabucco reside. To put it briefly, this is one of the worst examples of the "stand still and sing" perversion of opera I've ever seen. Somehow opera has become the museum piece of the musical world, performed with the dead hand of reverence - and the hand on this performance is particularly dead. In scene after scene, in war and in civil dissention, the chorus stands stock still. At one point the chorus stands around in front of an elevated tableau that doesn't even twitch during the whole scene. The main characters don't fare much better. They stand just as still, but they do it in a spot light. This is why the idol of Baal doesn't crash and crumble to the stage floor: it would be embarrassing to get more movement out of a statue instead of the people.Granted, there is some movement. It occurs when it's absolutely unavoidable - people coming onstage or going offstage. Nabucco does one aria lying on the ground - easier to hold still, you know. Such movement as does exist is usually fairly languid. On the whole, the vigor and movement of the music in Muti's hands is in telling contrast to the pallid, trance-like aspect of the people onstage. Verdi would have had a coronary.Speaking of stage aspect, we should consider costumes and sets. Don't expect to see anything that even remotely resembles the Middle East of the 6th Century BCE - although some of the long tiered robes resemble costumes shown in Assyrian and Babylonian art. The color scheme is generally almost monochromatic for the most part uninteresting - and not at all representative of a barbaric era of strong coloring.The sets are monumental, not at all resembling the architecture of the period but at least like it in spirit. The only thing that has a feel of Assyro-Babylonian times is a gigantic representation of the brilliant "Dying Lioness" frieze from (as I recall) Nineveh, the pinnacle of Assyrian art. Not that the King of Babylon would have any such thing in his palace.... On the whole, the sets are more surrealistic than strictly representational. In fact, they tend to overwhelm at the same time the static choruses underwhelm. This disparity of scale adds to the ridiculous note already sounded by all the goings-on - or, rather, lack of goings-on - in the staging.So the performance gets 5 stars, the staging gets 1 star -- average, 3. I've already said it: to get the part of this opera that's really good, get the CD set.

Outstanding singing, orchestra, direction, acting, costumes, and sets. Muti is the ideal conductor to bring out the meaning and subtlety in Verdi's score, and La Scala the ideal house. So much better than the Levine / Met Opera DVD.

In my opinion the only serious competition this video has is the  Met production with Ramey , and it's not at all a clear-cut decision if one has to choose between them. Other reviewers have stated this is a static staging; that doesn't bother me, I can picture Verdi being happier with this staging than the Met which is as usual, a little too frenetic. I am a fan of Sam Ramey in anything, so the Met wins in that area. The costumes at the Met are a little over the top, and they are over the top here as well, just not quite as much. I suppose in the end I would have to choose this one because the sound quality, although frankly not up to par, at least is UNIFORM. The Met video has generally better sound, but overloaded and harsh in areas. It is a tough call, as I say, they are both traditional stagings with great artists.For such essential repertoire, one really needs both ... :)

WOW!! If only I could give over five stars I would, the opera itself is incredible, one of the best in my option. Anything by Verdi, is going to be stellar, and this his third opera doesn’t disappoint. Second the cast are superb and deliver an excellent performance. Third the sets and costumes are outstanding, but what else can be expected from La Scala. My only disappointment is there isn’t a libretto booklet included, which I thought was standard with operas, but it’s a very minor inconvenience easily overshadowed against the grandiose!

Let's call the whole thing off. Sorry. I'll try to put a positive spin on this without coming right out and saying it was positively boring. Verdi's music is beautiful, and the singing, especially that of Renato Bruson, was excellent. The sets were nice, the costumes were pretty, and young Riccardo Muti was flamboyant. So much for the good part. Unfortunately, the staging was the sort that for years has kept audiences away in droves, and has inspired so many cartoons, usually depicting the proverbial fat ladies wearing horned helmets and carrying shields and spears. Most of the action was, "Chorus, stand stage right and don't move or do anything to betray the fact that you are alive. On cue, you will raise your right hand and hold it there for 117 measures, then switch hands. Just stand there and sing. Oh, and Principals, same thing, except stage left." I had a ticket for tonight's performance of Nabucco at Minnesota Opera, but after watching this, I gave the ticket back to them.

I have a hard time finding all those problems other reviewers find. This is a wonderful biblical opera with awesome voices, scenery, costumes and music. I have never heard a voice as spine tingling as Dimitrova...in such a demanding role. The chorus pieces alone are worth the price of admission. This opera is so good that I will probably add the MET version to my library. By the way there is no problem if it does not quite fit history.

I ordered this DVD because I had heard and loved the music. The voices were fine in this DVD but the staging was boring and the costumes were totally terrible. What ever was the costume designer thinking to put the leading lady in something that looked like stretchy armor over her ample girth!

This is a beautiful opera for those who love opera, and simply enjoy good music that teaches us an important lesson of history and of a people.

The production is superb, the singers are excellent. I have seen this opera "live" but must confess that this DVD was more satisfying than the ones I attended (and we had the best seats in the hall). Based on a review I read here before buying it I expected poor quality sound and picture, but I still wanted it for the cast involved. I must say that on my equipment the sound is great and the picture quality is very good (and I am very fussy on both these qualities). If you love this opera, get this DVD. You will want to play it often.

Un incontournable.