Dr. Takt über Giuseppe Verdi: „Nabucco“, Sinfonia, ab Takt 54 - Deutsche Oper Berlin
Experience the 25th episode of our video series with Dr Takt here.
Dr. Takt on Giuseppe Verdi: "Nabucco", Sinfonia, from bar 54
Dr Takt knows the special parts of many a score - and explains their fascination to us
Giuseppe Verdi prefixed his opera NABUCCO with a traditional potpourri overture in which the audience gets to hear the most memorable and striking melodies in the opera. Of course, it would not be complete without the song of the prisoners’ choir, “Va, pensiero”. Yet when this theme rings out at bar 54, there is a hesitation. The quietly flowing lament of the Israelites imprisoned in exile in Babylon has a strange, halting nature about it until it transitions into a light, almost dance-like rhythm. Verdi made use of a specific device to create this lightness: Instead of the 4/4 rhythm of the prisoners’ choir, he set the rhythm at 3/8, thereby changing the metre. The music thus subtly conveys that there is no reason to lament. Only as the plot progresses do the Babylonians conquer Jerusalem and force the people of Israel into exile.
The video will be released in a few days
