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Leónidas Mikos
as
Abigaille

Bregenz Festival
1993 -- 1994

Conducted
By
Claudio Abbado

Nabucco (short for Nabucodonosor) is an Italian-language opera in four acts composed in 1841 by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera. The libretto is based on biblical stories from the Book of Jeremiah and the Book of Daniel and the 1836 play by Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois and Francis Cornue, although Antonio Cortese's ballet adaptation of the play (with its necessary simplifications), given at La Scala in 1836, was a more important source for Solera than the play itself. Under its original name of Nabucodonosor, the opera was first performed at La Scala in Milan on 9 March 1842.
Nabucco is the opera which is considered to have permanently established Verdi's reputation as a composer. He commented that "this is the opera with which my artistic career really begins. And though I had many difficulties to fight against, it is certain that Nabucco was born under a lucky star."
The soprano role of Abigaille has been perceived as the downfall of a number of singers. Elena Souliotis and Anita Cerquetti sang it before they were ready and its high tessitura arguably damaged their voices. Certainly, their careers were not long ones. Maria Callas sang it only three times; only a live performance from 1949 was recorded. [It is interesting to hear that in this recording 'Va pensiero' was interrupted by much shouting but the chorus carried on. When it was repeated the audience was silent and then at the end they showed enthusiastic applause.] While Leontyne Price and Dame Joan Sutherland refused to sing Abigaille, Cristina Deutekom, Marisa Galvany, Ghena Dimitrova, Dunja Vejzović, Hilda Holzl, Jadranka Jovanović and Leónidas Miklos (The only male soprano, singing the dangerous role), María Guleghina all been recent exponents of the role.