In Giuseppe Verdi's penultimate work for the operatic stage, based on Shakespeare's drama of the same name, the composer not only depicts an intrigue that destroys lives, but also creates a soaring private tragedy. In Otello, Verdi unfolds the highest tonal intensity. Stormy, cynical and melancholy-poetic, he created an opera of deep soul-searching and, not least, a psychological decrescendo of the protagonist over four acts.
What power can an intrigue unfold? How tragic and profound can its effects be? The answer that can be drawn from Giuseppe Verdi's Otello is: devastating!
The title character is the governor of Venice on Cyprus. At his side, far from home, is Desdemona, his wife - and also Iago. The latter is hostile to Otello because he has passed him over for a promotion. Since then, Iago has been plotting revenge and has set up a perfidious intrigue. He wants to convince Otello that his beloved Desdemona is being unfaithful. Blinded by jealousy, Otello closes his eyes and ears to Desdemona's declarations of fidelity and murders her. Shortly afterwards, he realizes his blindness and executes himself.
Premiere March 23, 2024
