LA Opera: Nabucco at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

Verdi's Nabucco is headed back to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Los Angeles Opera runs it from February 27 through March 21, 2027, and it's one of the bigger Things Happening In Los Angeles on the classical calendar next year.

The story

Nabucco is the King of Babylon, and power gets to his head fast. The plot borrows from the biblical books of Jeremiah and Daniel. The Babylonians and the Hebrews are at each other's throats, and the king slowly loses his mind.

His daughter Abigaille is the real threat. She wants her father off the throne and the Israelites driven out. First, though, she has to get rid of her sister, who was taken captive and came out of it sympathetic to the prisoners and set on making peace. Family politics don't get much uglier than this.

Verdi was 28 when Nabucco premiered at La Scala in 1842, and it was his first big hit. The best-known music in it is "Va, pensiero," the chorus of the Hebrew slaves. Italian crowds still sing along to it. Verdi himself said the opera "was born under a lucky star."

This production

Baritone Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar makes his LA Opera debut in the title role. Director Thaddeus Strassberger's staging, first seen in 2017, moves the action out of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and into the gilded theatres of Milan. That's the city where the opera first played, so the set folds a little of its own history back into the story.

It's sung in Italian with projected English translations. Plan on roughly two hours and 45 minutes, with two intermissions.

Tickets and getting there

Seats start at $86 on the LA Theatre Guide listing, which also has the full list of performance dates and times. The run stretches across four weekends, so a sold-out Saturday doesn't mean you're out of luck. If you're scanning upcoming events Los Angeles has lined up for late winter, this one is worth booking early.

The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion sits at 135 North Grand Ave on the Music Center campus. Metro's B and D Lines stop at Civic Center/Grand Park station, a short walk from the plaza, and the Music Center has its own parking garage. Show up a little early if you've never been inside. The crystal chandeliers in the lobby are worth a slow look before the house lights drop.

Grand Park runs downhill right below the Music Center if you want a walk before curtain, and Little Tokyo is about 15 minutes away on foot for dinner.

For more things to do in Los Angeles, browse the arts and culture events calendar or see what else is on in downtown LA.