Verdi holds a special place in Riccardo Muti’s heart. Here he conducts the explosive opera whose nostalgic chorus, ‘Va, pensiero’, turned the composer into a hero of the Risorgimento, the movement for the unification of Italy. In the title role of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, Matteo Manuguerra is a baritone in the great tradition, while Renato Scotto brings both formidable temperament and bel canto delicacy to Abigaille.