Otello

Shakespeare was Verdi's favorite writer. Early in his creative career, the composer wrote an opera based on Shakespeare’s drama Macbeth and returned to it nearly twenty years later. For many years, he worked on King Lear, but dissatisfied with the libretto, he is believed to have destroyed the completed opera, though parts of its music were later used in other works. Shakespeare also inspired the last masterpiece of the brilliant composer – the comic opera Falstaff.

Verdi approached Othello with an immense sense of responsibility, aiming to create a work worthy of its literary source. The libretto was written by Arrigo Boito, with Verdi making some changes to Shakespeare’s plot. The action centers on the primary conflict – the confrontation between Othello and Iago. Verdi preserves the profound universal essence of Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy – enduring themes of friendship and betrayal, doomed love, and the madness of jealousy.

Verdi crafted a realistic musical drama, remarkable for its development of psychological tension and the dramatic intensity of the action, driving unerringly toward a climactic finale.

The sets and costumes are kindly provided by the State Opera of Stara Zagora