Verdi: Otello

Description

OTELLO marked Giuseppe Verdi's return to composing following his first retirement after writing AIDA. This retelling of Shakespeare's classic revenge tale was originally titled IAGO, after the Moorish general's villainous subordinate, so as to prevent confusion with Rossini's OTELLO.

Lago, upset with Otello's decision to promote the younger soldier Cassio over him, devises a plot to convince Otello that his wife Desdemona has been unfaithful to him while implicating Cassio in her infidelity. The jealous Otello strangles his wife just before learning the truth about Iago's plot, after which he kills himself.

The notoriously difficult title tenor role has been played by such luminaries as Ramon Vinay, Placido Domingo, and more recently, Russell Thomas.

Instrumentation: 3(3dPiccc).2+EH.2+BCl.4: 4.2+2Crnt.4.0: Timp.Perc(2): Hp: Str (4-4-3-3-3 in set): Band (3Hn.9Tpt/Crnt.3Tbn.Mand.2Gtrs.Lightning.Thunder.Org): Vocal Soli (9 roles, SATTTBBBB): Chorus.