Nebuchadnezzar, King of Assyria. Rewriting Ancient Mesopotamian History in Fiction

Abstract

The history of the ancient Orient has been widely used as source for inspiration of theatre and opera, focusing on figures as Semiramis and Nebuchadnezzar: but how was the ancient Near East perceived and represented before the actual archaeological discoveries? Bible and classical sources have been largely used for inspiration with the result that ancient Mesopotamian history has been rewritten changing and mixing up names, geographical places and historical events. The text deals with the composition of the libretto of the opera Nabucco, staged for the first time at Teatro alla Scala in Milan in 1842.