"Va, Pensiero" from Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi

Defeated, conquered, and driven into Babylonian exile, the Israelites dream of their homeland: "so beautiful, and so lost." Written by Verdi while major parts of Italy were held under foreign rule, "Va, pensiero" became an anthem of the liberation movement, the Risorgimento. It was famously sung spontaneously by the enormous crowd at Verdi&funeral procession. One of opera&most loved and recognizable moments, it is a work of profound sympathy with all those dispossessed by violent conflict.