On This Day

Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Nabucco" premieres in Milan

Nabucco is an Italian-language opera in four acts composed in 1841 by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera.

Nabucco is an Italian-language opera in four acts composed in 1841 by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera. The libretto is based on the biblical books of 2 Kings, Jeremiah, Lamentations, and Daniel, and on the 1836 play by Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois and Francis Cornu. However, Antonio Cortese's ballet adaptation of the play (with its necessary simplifications), given at La Scala in 1836, was a more important source for Solera than the play itself. Under its original name of Nabucodonosor, the opera was first performed at La Scala in Milan on 9 March 1842.

Nabucco is the opera that is considered to have permanently established Verdi's reputation as a composer. He commented that "this is the opera with which my artistic career really begins.

Historical Significance

Nabucco is an Italian-language opera in four acts composed in 1841 by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera.

Key People

Giuseppe Verdi

opera composer

Italian opera composer

Events Before

  1. China cedes Hong Kong Island to Britain during the First Opium War

    The First Opium War, also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and the Chinese Qing dynasty between 1839 and 1842.

  2. Dutch ex-king Willem I marries Henriette d'Oultremont de Wégimont

    Dutch ex-king Willem I marries Henriette d'Oultremont de Wégimont

  3. First continuous filibuster in the US Senate begins, as the Democratic minority attempt to run out the clock on a bill t

    First continuous filibuster in the US Senate begins, as the Democratic minority attempt to run out the clock on a bill to establish a national bank, lasts until March 11

  4. First emigrant wagon train to reach California leaves Independence, Missouri, on a 1,730-mile journey over the Sierra Ne

    First emigrant wagon train to reach California leaves Independence, Missouri, on a 1,730-mile journey over the Sierra Nevada [1]

  5. The first wagon train arrives in California after a five-and-a-half-month, 1,730-mile journey over the Sierra Nevada fro

    The first wagon train arrives in California after a five-and-a-half-month, 1,730-mile journey over the Sierra Nevada from Missouri [1]

Events After

  1. Richard Wagner's opera "The Flying Dutchman" premieres in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony

    Richard Wagner's opera "The Flying Dutchman" premieres in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony

  2. Oldest continuous writer of insurance in America opens, the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York (MONY)

    The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York (also known as Mutual of New York or MONY) was the oldest continuous writer of insurance policies in the United States.

  3. American Frontiersman Kit Carson (33) weds Mexican socialite Josefa Jaramillo (14) at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, in T

    American Frontiersman Kit Carson (33) weds Mexican socialite Josefa Jaramillo (14) at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, in Taos, Mexico

  4. Samuel Gridley Howe, American physician and educator, marries Julia Ward, American poet and author

    Samuel Gridley Howe, American physician and educator, marries Julia Ward, American poet and author

  5. First wagon train departs Independence, Missouri, for Oregon with 700 to 1,000 migrants

    The Oregon Trail was a 2,170-mile (3,490 km) east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory.

More from the 1840s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on March 9, 1842?
Nabucco is an Italian-language opera in four acts composed in 1841 by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera. The libretto is based on the biblical books of 2 Kings, Jeremiah, Lamentations, and Daniel, and on the 1836 play by Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois and Francis Cornu. However, Antonio Cortese's ballet adaptation of the play (with its necessary simplifications), given at La Scala in 1836, was a more important source for Solera than the play itself.
Why is Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Nabucco" premieres in Milan significant?
Nabucco is an Italian-language opera in four acts composed in 1841 by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera.
Who was involved in Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Nabucco" premieres in Milan?
Key figures include Giuseppe Verdi (opera composer).

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