Powerful choruses, a great pathos of freedom and a dramatic force that gets under your skin: with NABUCCO, the young Verdi achieved his breakthrough as an opera composer in 1842 and the work is still one of the most popular titles in the repertoire today. Now it is being staged for the first time at the Staatstheater Cottbus.

At the center is the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II, a biblical symbol of hubris, punishment and purification. Nabucco, as he is called in Italian, has subjugated the people of Israel. In a fit of megalomania, he declares himself a god and is punished with madness. His scheming daughter Abigaille takes advantage of his weakness to seize power. The political intrigue is juxtaposed with an emotional family and love drama. The famous Israelite prisoners' chorus "Va pensiero" became the secret anthem of the Italian freedom movement of the Risorgimento. Former co-director Armin Petras, who already devoted himself to an Italian opera classic with his TOSCA production, embarks on a search for traces from biblical times to the present day. Under the direction of Christian Möbius, the choirs of the Staatstheater Cottbus will fill enormous tableaux.
Premiere April 25
Further performances: April 30, May 15, June 6, 2026

www.staatstheater-cottbus.de