Otello at Met Opera

This article was originally published on my Typepad blog on October 10, 2012

I went to the Met Opera for the first time this season to see Verdi's Otello. I consider this one of the three greatest operas. The combined power of its music and drama is overwhelming. Toscanini played cello in the orchestra when Otello premiered in 1887 at La Scala. and he later recalled how the audience who had come to give polite applause to an old man could not stop cheering. Afterwards, they pulled Verdi's carriage home in a gesture of homage.

The performance this evening was excellent. I had not previously heard the conductor Semyon Bychov, but he showed full control over both the Met Orchestra and Verdi's music. The singing by all cast members was solid. There was the night's bit of drama as the stage manager announced Botha had allergies but would go on singing. But what raised this performance to greatness was Renee Fleming's Desdemona as she sang to a sold out house. She's simply one of the best sopranos of all time.

Elijah Mushinsky's 1994 production is darkly lit; there is an attempt, not particularly successful, to liven things up with special effects. The program advises: "This production uses fire, lightning, and strobe effects." The overall effect is similar to that in last season's equally dark production of Don Giovanni.