Giuseppe Verdi is the most important Italian opera composer and one of the greatest masters of opera ever. As a contemporary of Richard Wagner, he is also his great counterpart. Wagner's confident orchestral control balances Verdi's melodicism, which is rooted in folk music. This is how Verdi's works are rich in very beautiful vocal parts, but simpler in their orchestral instrumentation. He even gradually abolished the overtures, the instrumental preludes to the operas.
"Nabucco" is one of the few operas with a prelude. The overture has a potpourri-like compilation with the most important motifs of the work. The sudden success of the opera "Nabucco" can probably also be explained by the fact that the plot of the work captured the patriotic enthusiasm of the Italians in the fight against Habsburg. Verdi describes the Hebrews' fight for freedom against the Babylonians. Nabucco (Nabucodonosor or Nebuchadnezzar), the king of Babylon, feels compelled to give the Hebrews freedom. This idea in particular, alongside the great freedom choirs, the igniting melodies and the haunting rhythms, has found fertile ground with the Italian audience. The premiere took place on March 9, 1842 at La Scala in Milan.