Verdi's Otello
Willy Decker (stage director), Antoni Ros-Marbà (conductor) – With Giorgio Giuseppini (Lodovico), José Cura (Otello), Vittorio Grigolo (Cassio) – Gran Teatre del Liceu
Cast
Willy Decker — Stage director
François de Carpentries — Stage director
John MacFarlane — Set designer, costume designer
David Finn — Lighting
Athol Farmer — Choreographer
José Luis Basso — Chorus master
Antoni Ros-Marbà — Music director
Program notes
Seventy years after the triumph of the Rossini’s Otello ossia il Moro di Venezia, Verdi premiered his own adaptation of the Shakespeare play at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.
The Milanese public adored the new opera upon its 1887 premiere, leaving Rossini’s Otello to fall into relative obscurity in favor of Verdi's. While Rossini's work diverged fairly significantly from the Shakespeare source text, Verdi brought his nearer to the Bard, incorporating the infamous handkerchief and the layered psychological portrait of Iago. This staging from the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona is full of fire and passion, stunning set design, and performances worthy of a Willy Decker production...