Risorgimento!
At La Scala in February 1842, a rehearsal of Nabucco leads singers and theatre figures to debate the opera’s artistic merits and political implications. Impresario Merelli defends Verdi while worrying about Austrian censorship. Strepponi’s rehearsal of music from Nabucco and Saffo turns into a dream of her attraction to Verdi. After a political dispute with Count Belgioioso, the rehearsal resumes; Bellinzaghi’s prayer as Fenena becomes a vision of Nabucco’s triumph and the Risorgimento. An older Verdi appears as a senator of unified Italy, reflecting on the past and an uncertain future.