Love, envy, deception, betrayal: Shakespeare’s play Othello traffics in big emotions and themes, and that’s what Verdi’s opera version Otello delivers at scale. The composer was coaxed out of retirement to write it, and it premiered in 1887 to immediate success.
The successful governor Otello, married to Desdemona, promotes Cassio, enraging his ensign Iago. Iago plots to destroy Otello, planting the seeds of jealousy and suspicion. Fascinated by the villain who dominates the story, Verdi originally wanted to name the piece Iago. But it’s perhaps Desdemona who gets the best arias, ‘Willow Song’ and ‘Ave Maria’.
This production from German director Harry Kupfer locates the action on a single set – a dramatic red and black staircase.The part of Iago is sung by Italian star Marco Vratogna, with Yonghoon Lee taking the title role and Karah Son, the tragically devoted Desdemona.
See what else is in the Opera Australia Summer Season.
