"I have always thought, and I say this as a Frenchman, that the Italian Risorgimento was one of the most important historical, intellectual and popular moments of Italian history [...]. The soundtrack of this historical period was definitely Italian opera, and in particular the operas of Giuseppe Verdi. In fact, we could say that Giuseppe Verdi was the Ennio Morricone of Italy’s Risorgimento [...]. The Nabucco I wanted to describe is ideally set in Milan during the Five Days and, when doing this, I made use of one of the major symbols of Italian musical culture throughout the world: the city's Teatro alla Scala".
Arnaud Bernard