Nabucco – Ellen Kent Opera International

A horrid tale of envy and betrayal, Nabucco was Verdi’s first operatic triumph (and incidentally Ellen Kent’s too). Firmly grounded upon Nicolae Dohotaru’s excellent orchestra, a full-voiced chorus and attentive extras from the Theatre Workshop, the first night of this tour ran smoothly. Iurie Gisca’s Nabucco was splendidly both brutal and penitent. Olga Perrier warmed to her part as the blood-thirsty Abigaille, being quite hateful towards her sister Fenena (a golden-voiced Liza Kadelnik) and Ismaele (heroic tenor Vitalii Liskovetskyi). It was young bass Vadym Chernihovskyi as the aged Zaccaria who gave gravitas to this wicked tale and won our hearts.

Theatre Royal, 5 October 2016

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