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Verdi: Facts, compositions and biography on the great composer
It was while he was working on his second opera, Un giorno di regno, that Verdi's wife died. The opera was a flop and the composer vowed to give up composing forever. However, he was persuaded to write Nabucco - with its famous Chorus of Hebrew Slaves - and its premiere in March 1842 made Verdi a star. Pictured is a 2011 production of Nabucco at the Washington National Opera.