For many, it is with Nabucco that opera becomes an art form accessible to the broadest audiences. Seen in the context of our own milieu, one could say there is no more fitting stage for Nabucco than Split’s Peristyle.

Verdi composed Nabucco at just 28 years of age, and the work marked a true turning point in both his life and career. Its significance is reflected in his words to the publisher Giulio Ricordi: “With this opera, my career began.” After the failure of his first two operas and a series of personal tragedies, the loss of his two children and his wife, the young Verdi fell into a profound personal and creative crisis. It was precisely then, on a commission from La Scala in Milan, that Nabucco was born, propelling him into the ranks of the greatest composers in operatic history.

The musical story of the fate of the Jewish people during the reign of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar coincided with the political upheavals surrounding the unification of Italy. Verdi created music that expressed the nation’s passion and longing for freedom and unity, becoming an essential part of Italian national identity. Yet time has shown that Nabucco is far more than a political allegory - it remains an opera of enduring and universal popularity to this day.