OTELLO

AVAILABLE UNTIL: MAY 29 2021
RUNNING TIME: 2 HRS 30 MINS

OPERA | CLASSIC SIGNED VERDI

A violent tempest is raging outside the coast of Cyprus. Otello, commander of the Venetian forces, arrives safely with his ship, and triumphantly announces the destruction of the Turkish fleet. Otello recently married Desdemona, but Roderigo is also in love with her. Iago convinces Roderigo that Desdemona will tire of her husband; and in addition insinuates that also Cassio is a rival for her love. Intrigues, misunderstandings and jealousy - the scene is set for catastrophe…
Giuseppe Verdi considered indifference to be the greatest sin on a theatrical stage.
 But the team behind this production of Otello claim that his next to last opera is the best of Italian operas. When the 70-year old master in 1884 returned to composing after a ten year hiatus, he picked his favorite playwright, William Shakespeare. For a long time, the opera was named Iago after it’s devilish engineer. In this production, soprano Malin Byström struggles to reconcile the viewpoint of a contemporary woman with Desdemona’s submissiveness before Otello. As did Verdi himself, who considered her a ‘type’ - the symbol of goodness and sacrifice – whilst Iago incarnates evil. ‘But who is able to incarnate Desdemona? Only the gods know!’ Verdi wrote, on a desperate hunt for a singer who might live up to the demands of this difficult role.
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This performance was originally broadcast live on March 21 in 2015.