Yesterday’s radio opera was Verdi’s “Nabucco,” his first big hit, loosely based on the Biblical figure of Nebuchadnezzar. Much of the plot is dramatic malarkey which makes for ear-catching arias and ensembles. But the “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves” (“Va, pensiero”) – based on Psalm 137 – something like it apparently did happen, and had resonated through centuries, and still resonates. Whether you have been taken away from your country, or your country has been taken away from you, it will resonate with you too. It is the one number in all of opera which is never not encored in performance, even during periods when encores in performance are out of fashion. My recollection is that in the latter half of the 20th century “Nabuco” was seldom performed, but that as the 21st century progresses, it is performed more often, at least in the United States, as we see our rights slipping away from us. And of course “Va pensiero” outside of the opera has never fallen out of favor (and it’s often encored in the concert hall, also.) Not a bad choice to broadcast on this anniversary, I’d say.
Speaking of the anniversary, remember Harry Dunn? Well, he’s now running for Congress in Maryland.
The news from Ukraine inspires me to reprise this video (which I first used in an article on Saint Javelina).
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