Nabucco

First of all, the grief at the destruction of Jerusalem.

Do you know the Opera Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi.

I think I've heard the name.

I can't say I've seen it.

One day on an idle stroll through the park, he met Marelli.

As they walked along together, Marelli took from his pocket a book, The Story of Nabucco, and handing it to Verdi, asked him to look it over and see if he thought there was a chance to make an opera out of it.

Verdi responded that he was not in the business of writing operas.

He had quit all such follies.

The price will be fifty thousand this afternoon.

Ten minutes of parley followed, and then Marelli drew his check for twenty thousand francs and Verdi gave his quit claim, turned over in bed, and went to sleep again.

The success of Nabucco Donoso was complete.

Its author had his twenty thousand francs, but Marelli made more than that.

In which Verdi opera do the characters Abigail, Fanina, and Abdallo appear?

Nabucco.

What is the title of Herman Melville's posthumously published novella that explores themes of innocence and moral ambiguity in a naval setting? Billy Budd.

Which well-known actor played the role of Red Grant in the James Bond film from Russia with Love?

Verdi turned 213 on Saturday.

And there's a big Verdi monument in Parma where people gather and sing the chorus from Nabucco, which is a kind of unofficial Italian national anthem.

And People talk about Verdi and values.

The mayor of Parma likes to talk about Verdi's values and what they mean to us in a time of crisis, which I thought was interesting.

It's based on a play by Voltaire about Peruvian rebellion against the Spanish in the 16th century.

Very rarely performed.

They did a new production of Nabucco, directed by the 96-year-old Pierluigi Pizzi.

And they did, in the tiny little theater in Buseto, which is really Verdi's hometown, there's a 300-person Teatro Verdi in Buseto, they did Franco Zeffirelli's miniature production of Aida, which he called Aidina.