Roland Wood, right, front, stars as the titular character in the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Nabucco.Michael Cooper/Canadian Opera Company
- Title: Nabucco
- Written by: Giuseppe Verdi
- Director: Katherine M. Carter
- Conductor: Paolo Carignani
- Company: Canadian Opera Company
- Venue: Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
- City: Toronto
- Year: To Oct. 25, 2024
The Canadian Opera Company has opened its 2024-25 mainstage season with a company premiere: Giuseppe Verdi’s Nabucco is currently onstage at Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, marking the COC’s first-ever performances of the 1842 opera.
Nabucco was Verdi’s first major hit, decidedly the opera that made the composer a star, and it’s hard to say why it’s been left off Canada’s biggest opera stage until now. It is certainly not easy to cast, with a score that demands much of its singers; at the same time, it’s a relatively early work of Verdi’s, and keen ears can hear that it’s simply not (yet) his best.
Whatever the reason for the delay, when the COC envisioned these inaugural Nabucco shows, I doubt they imagined the run would happen against the current violence in Israel and Gaza. Verdi’s opera is based on the Biblical story of Nebuchadnezzar II, the Babylonian king who destroyed Jerusalem, burned the city’s Temple of Solomon and enslaved the Hebrews who worshipped there. The opera’s most famous musical moment is the so-called Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves, when they sing of home, peace and the inevitable reward for their suffering.
A scene from the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Nabucco.Michael Cooper 2024/Canadian Opera Company
Nabucco doesn’t have much to offer on today’s conflict, save for some high-level commentary on faith and power. Unhelpfully, the fictional Nabucco departs from actual history; in a moment of crisis, Nabucco goes from self-proclaimed god to follower of Jehovah, and all, for the most part, seems well. Even if we look beyond the story’s environment and focus on the operatic love-triangle story nestled within, Nabucco is a hard sell – just like any opera that features two intelligent women with relative power and agency fighting over a tenor.
And yet, in this first production at the COC, Nabucco is a vehicle for excellent singing. One has to look for it, to mine the choices of director Katherine M. Carter in order to get to the opera’s greatness, which is the music. Italian maestro Paolo Carignani conducts deftly, pulling a warm, textured sound out of the excellent COC Orchestra, and leaving plenty of room for his singers to do their thing.
Roland Wood is a slow burn as the King Nabucco, his smooth baritone warming into the role as he grows more and more interesting. It’s always fascinating to hear gorgeous music sung from a character who has just done something horrific – like burning a Jewish temple, say. Wood leans into the righteous beauty in his first scene, leaving room to later grow mad, unsure, even frightened. His aria in the final act is a master-class in legato, everything you want out of a Verdi singer.
Wood stars as Nabucco, left, and Mary Elizabeth Williams plays Abigaille, the king's eldest daughter and first in line to the throne.Michael Cooper/Canadian Opera Company
It’s in the women of Nabucco, however, where you’ll find the true singing actors. Rihab Chaieb is magnetic as Fenena, the king’s daughter who goes from hostage to champion of the Hebrews. In the midst of a stark, often stiff stage, Chaieb’s Fenena is a breath of fresh air, a nuanced and instantly likeable character. Her singing is stretchy and rich, and her final-act aria is worth the wait.
In thrilling contrast is Mary Elizabeth Williams as Abigaille, Nabucco’s other, less generous daughter. Abigaille is an incredible character: She’s supposedly the king’s eldest daughter, and as first in line to the throne, she shadows her father’s royal duties with an almost pitiful level of self-importance and pomp. But when her claim to the throne is threatened – and the guy she loves chooses her sister Fenena! – Abigaille makes a bold grab for the crown, cost be damned.
Rihab Chaieb plays Fenena, one of the king's other daughters, and Simon Lim stars as ZaccariaMichael Cooper/Canadian Opera Company
Verdi writes her music with huge leaps, aggressive angles, incessant heights and chesty, animalistic lows; and Williams seems to devour it all, despite the production’s attempts to turn Abigaille into an exaggerated joke. She sings with a metallic sheen that makes me think of Sondra Radvanovsky, soaring over the top of her range and diving through coloratura with ease. And like Chaieb as the younger sister, Williams uses her voice as storytelling, as her way to act Abigaille. Together, the Nabucco women are a must-see force of opera.
Which is why it was frustrating that so many musical moments were diluted by staging choices. Carter’s production has the feel of being traditional, in its spirit of staying out of the opera’s way and letting the music tell the story. At other times it feels traditional in the not-so-great way, with awkward fight scenes, overly fussy spotlights and even characters who become caricatures.
When Abigaille's (Mary Elizabeth Williams) claim to the throne is threatened – and the man she loves chooses her sister Fenena – Abigaille makes a bold grab for the crown.Michael Cooper/Canadian Opera Company
It’s not all the production, though. Verdi’s opera leaves a fascinating number of challenges for a director, such as Nabucco’s seemingly out-of-nowhere turn from conqueror to blasphemer, or Abigaille’s strangely paced scene in the opera’s final act. We don’t even get a proper wrap-up to the love triangle with Fenena and Ismaele (strappingly sung by Matthew Cairns).
Despite the loose ends, the COC can call its premiere run of Nabucco a success. The opera functions best as a way to get stunning singing into one’s ears as quickly as possible; and in spite of the production’s most bewildering moments, this cast guarantees a special, rare kind of performance that’s begging to be heard live.