Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo, Bogotá, 14 September 2025
Giuseppe Verdi: Nabucco
In 1842, when Giuseppe Verdi premiered Nabucco (originally titled Nabucodonosor), he could not have known that this opera would not only launch his highly successful operatic career, but also inspire much of the Italian population to fight against Austrian domination and advance the Risorgimento movement. Unperformed in Colombia for more than 150 years, this new production brought the work back with an internationally renowned cast, a superb orchestra and a fantastic chorus. By almost every measure, the performance was a massive success.
An innovative opera in every sense of the word, Verdi drew much inspiration from his belcanto predecessors but made the style his own, adding elements that changed the genre forever. One such element was the role of Abigaille, which required a soprano agile enough to sing coloratura passages but also with a wide enough range to move from the lowest to the highest notes of the soprano register in a matter of seconds. Another innovation was the character of Nabucco himself, the first role we now associate with the Verdi baritone: an ambivalent figure, neither hero nor villain, but a real person with flaws and virtues. This role laid the groundwork for more complex characters later on, such as Rigoletto, Iago and Falstaff.
However, the most important innovation in Nabucco was the use of the chorus as one of the main characters. In this performance, the Coro Nacional de Colombia was exceptional. From the opening bars to the opera’s conclusion, the chorus delivered an exciting yet deeply emotional performance. They sang the famous ‘Va, pensiero’ not only with great beauty, but also with genuine emotion. You could see tears on some of the choristers’ faces, a sign of their immersion in the text and drama. Too often, choruses merely serve as a backdrop to the opera, but that was not the case here. ‘Va, pensiero’ was encored, and conductor Yeruham Scharovsky invited the audience to sing along. Although this moment briefly broke my immersion in the drama, it was beautiful nonetheless.
As always, the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia was very good. This time, they performed under the baton of their musical director, Yeruham Scharovsky, who conducted the work commendably. Though the approach was occasionally too forceful, overpowering the soloists, it was an exciting performance that still captured the nuances of more introspective moments in the score, such as Abigaille’s Act II aria and Fenena’s Act IV aria.
Argentine baritone Fabián Veloz, who had previously triumphed in Bogotá as Scarpia in Tosca and Germont in La traviata, delivered an outstanding Nabucco—tyrannical in demeanor and powerful in voice. He seemed a bit restrained in the first act, perhaps saving his voice for the big moments to come. In Act II, he convincingly portrayed the disturbed king in ‘Chi mi toglie il regio scettro’. In Act III, his duet with Abigaille was superb, and in Act IV, his ‘Dio di Giuda’ was one of the vocal highlights of the night, magnificently shaped as an introspective prayer of self-reconciliation, followed by a thrilling ‘Cadran, cadranno i perfidi’. All in all, it was a splendid showing by Mr. Veloz, one of the few true Verdi baritones in today’s opera scene.
The role of Abigaille, infamous for destroying the voices of many sopranos throughout history—including Giuseppina Strepponi, Verdi’s wife—was notably portrayed by South Ossetian soprano Veronika Dzhioeva. From the moment she took the stage, I was struck by the power of her voice, yet she also sang with subtlety and refinement during the more introspective moments, often ignored in other interpretations of Abigaille. This was evident in ‘Anch’io dischiuso un giorno’ in Act II and her final scene in Act IV. Ms. Dzhioeva struggled somewhat with the very demanding cabaletta in Act II, but this did not detract from her solid overall performance.
American bass Morris Robinson, a staple at the Metropolitan Opera, was noteworthy as Zaccaria. He sang his introductory aria with distinction and his rich bass voice was a delight to hear. He overcame the technical challenges of the role notably, despite a few issues with his Italian diction. Colombian mezzo-soprano Andrea Niño delivered a consistently strong performance as Fenena, both vocally and dramatically. I was particularly impressed by her versatility—just a couple of months ago, she sang the role of Poppea in L’incoronazione di Poppea, a role and opera that could not be more different from Fenena and Nabucco. Her ‘Oh, dischiuso è il firmamento’ was another highlight of the night. Mexican tenor Andrés Carrillo was a compelling Ismaele with a powerful and formidable voice. Special mention goes to the comprimarios, especially Felipe Cevallos, who was excellent as Abdallo, as well as Vanessa Rose as Anna and Julián Usamá as the High Priest of Baal.
Stage direction was in charge of Pedro Salazar, as it has been at the Teatro Mayor for the past few productions. While not groundbreaking, the staging was effective enough for the drama to unfold clearly, as it wasn’t moved from biblical times. The plot was easy to follow and the singers were able to inhabit their roles appropriately. The irregular stairs at the back added depth and height to the set and I particularly liked how Nabucco’s prison was designed, with a high platform and a door closing it off on one side. A couple of choices, however, were less convincing—for instance, Fenena moved too freely across the stage in Act I, and as a hostage, it made little sense for Zaccaria to let her roam so easily, especially with Nabucco’s troops present. Additionally, there was no visual cue for the burning of the temple in the first act. Projecting flames on the back screen would have been an easy and effective solution.
Overall, the return of Verdi’s Nabucco to Colombia after more than 150 years was a resounding success. It further elevated the standard of singing in the country while reinforcing the Teatro Mayor’s status as one of the best in Latin America.
