With Nabucco, Verdi achieved his breakthrough as an opera composer in 1842. He shaped great emotions such as passion, hatred and madness in this work with impressive precision and musical power. "Va, pensiero", the so-called "Prisoners' Chorus", is one of the most popular pieces of music in opera history. It stands for the liberation of an oppressed people and to this day is something like the second national anthem of the Italians.