Thursday, January 31, 2013

ROSSINI, "OTELLO" -- Verdi, "OTELLO"

Speranza


Gioachino Rossini
Otello is an opera in three acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Berio di Salsi, based on Shakespeare's play Othello.
However, the opera deviates heavily from Shakespeare's original, not only in that it takes place in Venice and not on Cyprus, but also in that the whole dramatic conflict develops in a different manner. The role of Iago is reduced to some degree, and it is much less diabolical than in the original or in Verdi's Otello of 1887. In further contrast, the role of Rodrigo, of subsidiary importance in Shakespeare and Verdi, is very prominent in Rossini's version and is assigned some of the most difficult and brilliant music. The roles of Otello, Iago, and Rodrigo are all composed for the tenor voice.
Rossini's Otello is an important milestone in the development of opera as musical drama. It provided Giuseppe Verdi with a benchmark for his own adaptations of Shakespeare. A recent Opera Rara CD of the opera includes an alternative happy ending, a common practice with drama and opera at that period of the 19th Century.

Contents

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[edit] Performance history

The first performance took place at the Teatro del Fondo in Naples on 4 December 1816. It was given its UK premiere on 16 May 1822 at the King's Theatre in London and its American premiere at the Park Theatre in New York on 7 February 1826.[1]

[edit] Roles

Maria Malibran as Desdemona by François Bouchot (1834)
RoleVoice typePremiere Cast, 4 December 1816
(Conductor: - )
OtellotenorAndrea Nozzari
Desdemonamezzo-sopranoIsabella Colbran
RodrigotenorGiovanni David
JagotenorGiuseppe Ciccimarra
Emiliamezzo-sopranoMaria Manzi
ElmirobassMichele Benedetti
The Doge of VenicetenorGaetano Chizzola
LuciotenorNicola Mollo
A gondoliertenorNicola Mollo

[edit] Synopsis

Place: Venice
Time: End of the 18th Century

[edit] Related Works

Franz Liszt based the Canzone from the Années de Pèlerinage supplement Venezia e Napoli on the gondolier's song "Nessun Maggior Dolore" from this opera.

[edit] Recordings

YearCast:
Otello,
Desdemona,
Iago,
Rodrigo		Conductor,
Opera House and Orchestra		Label [2]
1978José Carreras,
Frederica Von Stade,
Gianfranco Pastine,
Salvatore Fisichella		Jesus Lopez Cobos,
Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra		Audio CD: Philips
Cat: 432 456-2
1988Chris Merritt,
June Anderson,
Ezio Di Cesare,
Rockwell Blake		John Pritchard,
Orchestra and Chorus of RAI Torino
(Video recording of a performance in the Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro, August)		DVD: Encore
DVD 2223
1999Bruce Ford,
Elizabeth Futral,
Juan José Lopera,
William Matteuzzi 		David Parry,
Philharmonia Orchestra and the Geoffrey Mitchell Choir		Audio CD: Opera Rara
Cat: ORC 18
2000Bruce Ford,
Mariella Devia,
Octavio Arévalo,
Juan Diego Flórez		Gianluigi Gelmetti,
Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
(Recording of a performance in the Royal Opera House, February)		Audio CD: Premiere Opera Ltd.
Cat: CDNO 548-3;
House of Opera

[edit] References

Notes
  1. ^ Holden, p. 779
  2. ^ Recordings of Otello on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk
Sources

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Otello_(Rossini)&oldid=516363558"
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