The opera Nabucco is, of course, based on the bible and the story of the Babylonian Captivity. In 586 BC the Kingdom of Judah, descending from David, was trampled by the Babylonians, the first Temple destroyed and the Jews captured and deported to Babylon where they were enslaved by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II. This was a watershed moment in the history and culture of the Jewish people as it also marked changes in the Hebrew alphabet, the end of the tribal system in favor of a community of clans, the fundamental significance of the Torah in Jewish worship and the rise of the scribes and sages as important leaders. When Babylon was conquered by the Persian Cyrus the Great nearly 50 years later, the Jews were allowed to return to their homeland. This event is referred to in various places in the bible but is most compactly described in 2 Kings 25:8-21. However, the Babylonian Captivity was psychologically devastating to the corporate personality of Judah and its influence can be found throughout the historical and prophetic books of the bible, especially the book of Jeremiah.
The libretto for the opera was fashioned by the Italian poet Temistocle Solera whose first operatic project was also Verdi’s first opera, Oberto, conte di San Bonifacio, followed by Nabucco, I Lombardi alla prima crociata, Giovanna d’Arco and Attila, which was only begun by him and finished by Piave. Solera’s source was a play by French dramatist August Anicet-Bourgeois, Nabuchodonosor and a ballet by Antonio Cortesi (also based on the French text) which was performed at La Scala in 1836. The ballet’s scenario presented Solera with important alterations that differed from the play and gave more dramatic interest to the libretto. The libretto was originally meant to be set by Otto Nicolai, composer of The Merry Wives of Windsor (Die Lustigen Weibe von Windsor), who released it in favor of Verdi. Nabucco’s success brought forth this reaction from Nicolai: “Verdi is the Italian composer of today. He has set the libretto which I refected, and made his fortune with it. But his operas are absolutely dreadful and utterly degrading for Italy”. Little else is known about the origins of the libretto and its development as no correspondence seems to exist between Solera and Verdi from that time; like the relationship between Mozart and Da Ponte, they both lived in the same town and worked for the same theatre…therefore correspondence was unnecessary.
It is interesting to note the connection between the text for “Va pensiero” and Psalm 137 which comments specifically on the Babylonian event:
“By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"
How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.”
The text of “Va, pensiero, sull ali dorate”, sung by the Hebrew slaves in Part III, scene ii of the opera translates thus:
“Go, my thought, on golden wings; go, alight upon the slopes, the hills, where, soft and warm, the sweet breezes of our native land are fragrant! Greet the banks of the Jordan and Zion’s razed towers…Oh, my country so lovely and lost! Oh, remembrance so dear and ill-fated! Golden harp of the prophetic bards, why do you hang mute on the willow? Re-kindle the memories in our breasts, speak to us of the times of yore! Just as for the cruel fate of Jerusalem, intone a strain of bitter lamentation, otherwise let the Lord inspire you with a melody to give us strength to suffer!”