Nabucco - Dalibor Jenis
Ismaele - Attilio Glaser
Zaccaria - Liang Li
Abigaille - Francesca Mondanaro
Fenena - Ronnita Miller
Oberpriester des Baal - Marko Mimica
Abdallo - Gideon Poppe
Anna - Nicole Haslett
Chor & Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin
Conductor - Ivan Repusic
Director - Keith Warner
My previous and also the first live experience of Nabucco was Daniel Slater's production at Flemish Opera in 2013. The directorial approach focused on the moral question of greed and the public against those in power with reference to the Occupied Wall Street movement. The relevancy to contemporary affair was effective at the time but I agreed with my friend that this staging by Keith Warner would probably stand the test of time. The main focus was on Christian philosophy in the old testament that cast out the false idol and turned to one God or would be punished. Warner saw this opera alike a 19th century oratorio regarding religious moral dimension than the double message to rebuild a nation from broken states. When Nabucco putting on the gold mast and claimed himself above god, he suddenly became mad and unable to prevent the coup d'etat by Abigaille claiming the throne. Though he represented the one with righteous when regained senses, repent his sins by liberating the Israelites from execution and acknowledged their faith. In contrast, Abigaille not only lost her regal status but too late to repent and casted out from Jerusalem. Although she did all the wrongdoings, there was a degree of sympathy that one would realise the situation forced her to make all the bad moves and as a daughter of the slave. There was also a silent role in this production probably a representation of God himself. An elderly man first pushed the steel structure apart to reveal the interior and disappeared when the Israelites began to congregate at the invasion of Babylonians. He reappeared when Nabucco claimed to be greater than God and pulled out a barrier while the monarch was punished by turning into a mad king. Towards the end he shut the structure when Abigaille was banished.
Compare to the stage set of Lucia in previous evening merely as a backdrop, theatrically this production created the dramatic intensity and attentions to bring out the central theme of each scene. At the beginning, we saw a large erected moveable structure made by steel to represent the great walls of Jerusalem. The smoke effect coming from the top with stage lights created a dense and heavy atmosphere, which further attracted the audience curiosity to find out the secret behind the wall. Interestingly, the Israelites all wore black in the fashion of late 19th century except the Kohen, who wore Bukharan kippah but strangely a scarf instead of tallit with black stripes. Leaving the accuracy of religious clothing aside, the Jews here were portrayed as a close group that saw anyone did not turn to their belief as outsider, and men particularly as fanatics praying around the wall of a black room fervently, which was probably a reference to the temple of Jerusalem. The throne of Nabucco sat inside a watch tower with a stair and gold paint on the wall. The outlook stood out from the dark stage, also the simplistic and stylish appearance was effective than any attempt of historical replication of a throne room. The hanging ropes in the execution scene with Israelites sat in rows awaiting their death sentence sent down the emotion of fears and chilling atmosphere in an execution room. The key success I felt altogether was the seamless scene change that the gigantic sets could move in different ways without losing the dramatic flow, and the display of stage machinery was a spectacle that not many opera productions could manage.
In this performance the male soloists were better than ladies with the singing. Dalibor Jenis's timbre had that darker tone colour than normal baritones that enhanced the vocal richness with a good projection. His musical phrasing was appropriately executed and one of those singers I would want to hear again in future. His physical outlook and acting also suited to the portrayal of Nabucco as a young and troubled monarch in this production. Liang Li was also looked ideal in the role of Zaccaria as priest to the Israelites. Good vocal projection and the singing was not forceful but pleasant as a bass. Francesca Mondanaro was a good actress by giving an intense display of conspirator claiming the throne of Nabucco for her own defence and the subsequent downfall as a rejected ruler. Though her singing deteriorated as the evening went on with intonation problem on high vocal register and not a voice to listen long. Attilio Glaser was better but her role had only one aria to showcase and did not make much an impression. The chorus delivered a heartfelt and beautiful account of the chorus of Hebrew slaves. Generally the choir was secured with intonation, lesser vibrato and delivered the body of sound to fill the house. Ivan Repusic was less controlling with his conducting than Filippo Sanjust. Even so, the orchestral playing did not lose any signs of energy, the tempo change between scenes were natural and not abrupt. The accompaniment never overpowered the singers in volume and being responsive to the conducting.
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