When it comes to the early operas of Giuseppe Verdi, there are two opposing schools: One says these early attempts by the great Italian operatic master are sadly overlooked and are worthy of ambitious revivals, and the other posits that given the large canon of mature Verdi operas available, there is no point in producing those operas in which he was still mastering his craft.

At San Diego Opera’s Saturday (February 20) opening of Verdi’s “Nabucco,” his third operatic attempt and his first commercial success, I found myself bouncing from one camp to the other. During its sumptuous, full-throated choruses and the few touching ariosos of this grandiose Biblical epic I was joining ranks with the pro-revival faction. But enduring the scrawny orchestrations, rambling arias and the awkward, mechanical plot turns, I was ready to renounce any connection with the pro-revival faction.

Sylvie Valayre in "Nabucco."

^{Courtesy photo}

San Diego Opera’s “Nabucco” production boasts a more than respectable cast, stellar conducting by Edoardo Mueller, and a gorgeous set and costumes from Lyric Opera of Chicago. The visual allure of the bright costumes and the set’s striking architectural design—by the noted Michael Yeargan—helped counterbalance the shortcomings of the opera itself.

American baritone Richard Paul Fink created the title role, the 6th-century B.C.E. Babylonian monarch who defeated the Hebrew nation and took its people into captivity, with majestic dramatic strokes and resplendent vocal prowess. His robust voice filled the cavernous Civic Theatre, but he relied more on supple phrasing and intuitive emotive gesture than mere stentorian force. Inasmuch as the role required Fink to move from contemptuous warrior, to imperious monarch, to dazed and ineffectual madman, to repentant sage, he navigated this unlikely emotional trajectory with convincing authority.

Considering that a mere four weeks ago Fink did not know the role and had no plans to journey to San Diego from Houston to sing it, his accomplishment is more than admirable. When the contracted Serbian lead baritone bowed out for murky personal reasons, Fink accepted the draft of San Diego Opera General Director Ian D. Campbell. And companies planning to stage “Nabucco” should be talking to his agent without delay.

Equally commanding as the Hebrew High Priest Zaccaria was bass Raymond Aceto, whose thrilling low notes resonated mightily. His tender duets with Israeli mezzo-soprano Susana Poretsky as Fenena, the Babylonian princess who converts to the God of the Hebrews, brought out the suave, lyric qualities of Acito’s ample basso profundo. Poretsky’s well-modulated, rich but never dusky mezzo and her articulate diction made her the vocal standout among the female voices.

French soprano Sylvie Valarye has sung the demanding role of Abigaille, the “evil sister” to Fenena, in major European houses, but I find her strange, constricted vocal technique compromises her dramatic confidence. She frequently swooped to hit her high notes, and her arrival was not always a beautiful tone, although it was on pitch. Ismaele, the romantic tenor character that Verdi’s librettist Temistocle Solera invented to give the Biblical story a conventional love-triangle twist, was entrusted to the young American Arthur Shen. His light, lyric voice carried well in the hall, although his top register began to thin just when one hoped for a bit of brilliance.

Two singers from this season’s recently completed “La Bohème” production, soprano Priti Gandhi and baritone Alfred Walker, and San Diego Opera stalwart Joseph Hu, a Taiwanese tenor, provided assured performances of their comprimario roles.

The San Diego Opera chorus, under Chorus Master Timothy Todd Simmons’ thorough preparation, brought a wide dynamic and emotional range to their pivotal roles, whether haughty members of the Babylonian court or despondent Hebrews in captivity. Their “Va pensiero,” the most famous music from the opera and a piece that later assumed great importance in the fight for Italian political independence from Austria, rattled the rafters with robust fortes, but sounded even more compelling in the hushed pianos.

Lotfi Mansouri’s skilled direction provided maximum credibility and sense to a book filled with a plethora of staging challenges, including the destruction and pillage of the Temple in Jerusalem, Cecil B. DeMille-sized crowd scenes, mad scenes, and an awkward deathbed conversion. His direction of the prison scene in which Nabucco regains his sanity allowed Fink to portray this unexpected transformation with grace and fluidity, aided by Michael Whitfield’s subtle, suffused lighting.

San Diego Opera last produced “Nabucco” in 1981, when former General Director Tito Capobianco methodically presented the entire Verdi canon. For many patrons, another 30 years will be soon enough to revive this opera.