{"id":45011,"date":"2024-07-17T03:11:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-17T01:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/55fb20c3-88bb-4b78-8ab7-1c0d1a27c8ca"},"modified":"2024-07-17T12:36:07","modified_gmt":"2024-07-17T10:36:07","slug":"verdi-the-climate-activist-how-the-italian-composers-chorus-of-the-hebrew-slaves-is-fighting-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/verdi-the-climate-activist-how-the-italian-composers-chorus-of-the-hebrew-slaves-is-fighting-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Verdi the climate activist: how the Italian composer\u2019s \u2018Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves\u2019 is fighting climate change"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Charlotte Smith\n <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 17 July 2024 at 01:11 AM<\/p>

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Read on to discover the unlikely link between Verdi\u2019s ‘Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves’ and climate change\u2026<\/strong><\/p>

Since its composition in 1841, Verdi<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s Nabucco<\/em> has attracted love and admiration in equal measure. It was, after all, the opera Verdi himself claimed \u2018with which my artistic career really begins\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>

Undoubtedly the opera\u2019s most famous and frequently-performed section is the powerful \u2018Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves\u2019. This begins \u2018Va, pensiero, sull’ali dorate\u2019, meaning \u2018Go, thought, on wings of gold\u2026\u2019\u00a0<\/p>

Full lyrics for ‘Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves’<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>
Different interpretations of ‘Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves’<\/h2>
Over the years the chorus has inspired many interpretations \u2013 encompassing far more than the opera\u2019s Old Testament plot of Hebrew captivity at the hands of the Babylonians.\u00a0<\/p>
Some believe Verdi composed his \u2018Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves\u2019 in support of Italian patriots, seeking to unify their country. And such is the feeling of hope and pride it inspires that several leading figures over the years have suggested it should replace Italy\u2019s official national anthem<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>
Rigoletto: a guide to Verdi’s great opera and its best recordings<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>
Riccardo Muti even used the work\u2019s patriotic message to appeal to Italian authorities proposing arts budget cuts in 2011.<\/p>
<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Verdi’s famous chorus performed at the Metropolitan Opera<\/figcaption><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-message-for-the-planet\">A message for the planet…<\/h2><p>But a the 2024 <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/operafestival.fi\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Savonlinna Opera Festival<\/a><\/strong> in Finland, <em>Nabucco<\/em>\u2019s power to move audiences is supporting a thoroughly modern cause… climate change.\u00a0<\/p><p>Director Rodula Gaitanou\u2019s <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/operafestival.fi\/en\/ohjelmisto\/nabucco\/\">new production<\/a><\/strong> remakes an ancient struggle for the modern age. Here, the Babylonian oppressors represent \u2018the cold world of machines and technocrats who disregard the value of nature\u2019. And the oppressed Israelites are \u2018eco-warriors who defend nature and human values\u2019.\u00a0<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Nabucco 2024 traileri \/ Nabucco 2024 trailer\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yVrkOyZtdoU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Verdi’s Nabucco at the Savonlinna Opera Festival 2024<\/figcaption><\/figure><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/famous-opera-houses\">10 of the most famous opera houses<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>If such recent concerns are at times a little awkwardly draped over the work\u2019s ancient setting, in the ‘Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves’ Gaitanou\u2019s message is suddenly, vibrantly clear. \u2018Now, as it has always done, “Va pensiero” has a strong symbolic meaning,’ she says<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/the-greatest-opera-composers-of-all-time\">The 10 greatest opera composers of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>It\u2019s testament to the work\u2019s strength \u2013 that wonderful synthesis of idealistic lyrics and uplifting music \u2013 that it so easily speaks for multiple causes.\u00a0<\/p><p>And it\u2019s a reminder that the test for all great art \u2013 from <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/johann-sebastian-bach\">Bach<\/a><\/strong> to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/classical-music-inspired-shakespeare\">Shakespeare<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 is its ability to speak to the heart, regardless of time or culture.\u00a0<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Charlotte Smith Published: Wednesday, 17 July 2024 at 01:11 AM Read on to discover the unlikely link between Verdi\u2019s ‘Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves’ and climate change\u2026 Since its composition in 1841, Verdi\u2019s Nabucco has attracted love and admiration in equal measure. It was, after all, the opera Verdi himself claimed \u2018with which my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":45012,"template":"","categories":[1,17],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"2"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/07\/verdi-the-climate-activist-how-the-italian-composers-chorus-of-the-hebrew-slaves-is-fighting-climate-change.jpg",2560,1920,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/07\/verdi-the-climate-activist-how-the-italian-composers-chorus-of-the-hebrew-slaves-is-fighting-climate-change-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/07\/verdi-the-climate-activist-how-the-italian-composers-chorus-of-the-hebrew-slaves-is-fighting-climate-change-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/07\/verdi-the-climate-activist-how-the-italian-composers-chorus-of-the-hebrew-slaves-is-fighting-climate-change-768x576.jpg",768,576,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/07\/verdi-the-climate-activist-how-the-italian-composers-chorus-of-the-hebrew-slaves-is-fighting-climate-change-1024x768.jpg",800,600,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/07\/verdi-the-climate-activist-how-the-italian-composers-chorus-of-the-hebrew-slaves-is-fighting-climate-change-1536x1152.jpg",1536,1152,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/07\/verdi-the-climate-activist-how-the-italian-composers-chorus-of-the-hebrew-slaves-is-fighting-climate-change-2048x1536.jpg",2048,1536,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Charlotte Smith Published: Wednesday, 17 July 2024 at 01:11 AM Read on to discover the unlikely link between Verdi\u2019s ‘Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves’ and climate change\u2026 Since its composition in 1841, Verdi\u2019s Nabucco has attracted love and admiration in equal measure. It was, after all, the opera Verdi himself claimed \u2018with which my…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/45011"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Different interpretations of ‘Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves’<\/h2>Over the years the chorus has inspired many interpretations \u2013 encompassing far more than the opera\u2019s Old Testament plot of Hebrew captivity at the hands of the Babylonians.\u00a0<\/p>