Nabucco at Deaf West Theatre

A king driven mad. A bloodthirsty princess usurping power. A group of defenseless refugees struggling to fight back against their oppressors. If you think this sounds like something out of Game of Thrones you wouldn't be wrong -- but this epic drama full of backstabbing, violence and palace intrigue is actually Verdi's acclaimed opera Nabucco. Thaddeus Strassberger's production at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles features opera superstar (and Three Tenors member) Plácido Domingo as the mad king Nabucco, whose campaign to drive the Jews from Babylon turns his family against itself. Nabucco doesn't feature any dragons, but it does include the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves -- one of opera's most famous songs, which was once in the running to be Italy's national anthem.