The opera was commissioned by the Teatro Comunale di Bologna for the 150th anniversary of the Italian unification which was commemorated in 2011, and had there an initial run of six performances between April 5 and 16, coupled with Luigi Dallapiccola's Il prigioniero.

[1] The work mixes the story of one of the most well-known operas by Giuseppe Verdi, Nabucco, with social and cultural aspects of the Risorgimento, through a plot in which one is the reflection of the other.

[3] In a room inside the theatre the répétiteur (Maestro sostituto) is rehearsing with Giovannina Bellinzaghi Fenena's prayer from the fourth act of the opera Nabucco.

When the singer finally arrives, he asks her to work on Saffo's aria, but she prefers Verdi's music and starts rehearsing Abigaille's trio instead.

An excited political discussion follows between the Maestro sostituto and the count, who ends up by being offended and walks off, slamming the door.