October 03, 2025
NABUCCO | ERIKA GRIMALDI | BONN
Erika Grimaldi adds a new Verdi role to her repertoire with Abigaille in a new production of Nabucco directed by Roland Schwab at Theater Bonn, where she also makes her house debut. The production will be conducted by Will Humburg, with twelve performances scheduled on October 3, 18, 19, 24, 31; November 2, 9, 14; December 11; February 21, 2026; March 6; and April 5.
She will appear alongside a distinguished cast that includes Aluda Todua as Nabucco (with Amartuvshin Enkhbat, George Gagnidze, and Devid Cecconi taking over on later dates), Derrick Ballard and Pavel Kudinov alternating as Zaccaria, Ioan Hotea as Ismaele, and Charlotte Quadt as Fenena.
The Piedmontese soprano has already earned acclaim in a wide range of Verdi roles, including Aida, Lady Macbeth, Leonora (Il trovatore and La forza del destino), Amelia (Un ballo in maschera and Simon Boccanegra), Desdemona, Alice Ford, Giovanna d’Arco, Medora, and Amalia (I masnadieri). Her upcoming Verdi engagements include Otello at the Ópera de Las Palmas, Il trovatore at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, and Un ballo in maschera at the Teatre Principal de Maó (Menorca).
More information about Erika Grimaldi:
https://www.operabase.com/erika-grimaldi-a5155/de Instagram Erika Grimaldi https://www.erikagrimaldi.com/
About the Production:
After the victory of Nabucco, the King of Babylon, over the Hebrews, he takes them into captivity. His daughter Fenena, who is among the Hebrew prisoners, has turned her back on her father and chosen her beloved Ismaele, the nephew of the King of Jerusalem. Abigaille, Nabucco’s second daughter, by contrast, hungers for power. When she discovers that she is not Nabucco’s biological daughter, she resolves to remove her sister. When Nabucco ultimately proclaims himself a god and loses his sanity, Abigaille seizes her chance: through deceit, she tricks her father into sentencing all the Hebrews—and thus also his real daughter—to death. Out of fear for her life, Nabucco regains his senses and frees the Hebrew people. The story of Nabucco has its roots in the Bible. It was King Nebuchadnezzar II who, after defeating the Hebrews, lost his mind and was later restored by God. In 1842, Giuseppe Verdi achieved an overnight breakthrough with this subject. The Milanese audience—so it is said—was able to identify with the Hebrew people, as Milan was under Austrian rule at the time of the premiere. The choral number Va, pensiero from the opera’s third act—known today primarily as the “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves”—was interpreted as a hymn to freedom. Verdi’s success was due, not least, to the political resonance of his opera. In his production, Roland Schwab (Oberst Chabert, Ernani) places the themes of captivity and power at the center. The prison serves not only as a setting but also as a metaphor: in the apparent game of power, violence itself becomes a philosophical prison from which no one can escape. Have a look at our news: https://o-pr.net/news/ https://o-pr.net/