DITTE FEUK - VERDI'S OTHELLO

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OPERA!

In operas, it's the music that carries the lines. The heroes can get sentenced to death in mocking three-rhythms (tretakt) and the villains can conceal themselves behind four loud French horns. Lonely striplings should not let their guard down; a lovesick melody enjoys sneaking up on its prey, slowly caressing the nape of his neck to later warm down his back with all of its swelling ribcage.
Nothing is too dramatic, too scary, or too beautiful on the opera stage. This book is meant to mirror that, both visually and verbally. Through a great collection of photos from productions and by peeking into how these timeless operas were made, we are proud to introduce this spectacular performing art that knows no limits or interdictions.
Our expectation is to inspire both the curious newcomers and the already veteran opera lovers. The pictures are chosen from among the best ones Mats has taken throughout his nine-year career at the Royal Opera in Stockholm; and Ditte's texts explain more about the background of the operas, their significance, the qualities of the tunes, and renowned performances.
There is not a single kind of opera; there are countless. In this book we present operas chosen because they all have contrived to combine attractive stories with gifted music. Several of them have also got renowned melodies that even those who have never seen an opera show can recognise. Our chosen operas are all characterised by the fact that they awaken intense emotions, wherever, whenever, however they are staged.

Mats Bäcker - photographer
Ditte Feuk - writer

#19 Othello Giuseppe Verdi - 1887 

#19 Othello: A Lyrical Drama in Four Acts
UR-PREMIÈRE       5th of February 1887, La Scala di Milano
ORIGINAL TITLE       Otello: dramma lirico in quattro atti
MUSIC                         Giuseppe Verdi (*1813 +1901)
LYRICS                        Arrigo Boito after Shakespeare  
SOME PARTS:
Othello, governor of Cyprus (heroic tenor),
his sinister enemy Iago (baritone),
the up-and-coming Cassio (lyric tenor),
the easily waylaid Roderigo (lyric tenor), and
Othello's wife Desdemona (soprano). 

Septuagenarian's Success

Verdi's Othello is one out of several successful operas based upon the works of William Shakespeare. That the Bard is so especially apt to put music to is shown by the thousands of musical works that have been written to accompany his words, or with his words as inspiration. Othello, for instance, is only one of the tragedies that have been brought more than once to the operatic stage.
Especially the portrayal of the vivid characters, with all of their quirks and human flaws, are clearly a shining, inspiring starting point for composers and lyricists alike. Shakespeare himself put emphasis as well in that kind of intense situations that often make the cornerstones of an opera or musical; loyalty vs. betrayal, funny shenanigans between the incurably quick and the incurably phlegmatic, the dangers of thirst for power, the lack of humility, the pursuit and the loss of love... Yet another reason why Shakespeare fits music like a glove is, of course, the inherent rhythm that characterises his style; lexicon, syntax, semantics, rhyme, and anti-rhyme make up a special completeness that is easily expressed in both words and tunes.
Shakespearean texts are melodies themselves. Without any need for distorting the source material, it is an easy task to turn the text of a witty soliloquy into song. The words just fall into place like puzzle pieces. Yet borrowing from the Bard to make an opera is naturally not enough to ensure oneself that the result will be a complete opus. In order to fit these classical lines into the musical pattern of opera, one needs both courage and sensitivity. The most relevant thing to do is not to disturb, but rather use the own musicality inherent in the words and in the story. And Verdi succeeds here.

A Dark Spiral

This story begins fully charged with excitement, right before the dreadful catastrophe. 
Through a wild violent storm, a war fleet returns home to the people of Cyprus. On board is the local governor, Othello. After having vanquished the Turks, he and his crew are welcomed by cheering crowds on the docks... but there is one who does not share in the common joy, sneering at the homecoming heroes instead. Iago is torn on the inside with hate and envy. He thinks that he has been passed over when not he, but Cassio has been named aide-de-camp, and that the fault is Othello's. Through lies and deception, Iago takes his disproportionate revenge. Each and every one in his path, he intends to bring down. What begins with poisonous slanders will end with violent deaths.
First and foremost, Iago contrives to put Cassio in such a demeaning light that Othello feels himself obliged to demote the young man. But for Iago, this revenge is not enough.Whenever he has the chance, Iago is a master at quickly taking advantage of, and manipulating, his victims so that they believe in the worst-case scenario. Feeling invincible, Iago sings his Creed aria in praise of evil, then contrives, as the story unfurls, to make Othello jealous. His lady Desdemona is completely innocent, yet unwittingly becomes a pawn in Iago's intrigues. On Iago's advice, she goes to her husband's side to intercede on behalf of Cassio and have him reinstated. But, right when Othello reunites with her (also according to keikaku on Iago's sinister side), she has just taken her leave of Cassio, and Othello believes that she may be unfaithful. Later, when she returns to pleade for mercy on behalf of Cassio, her husband reacts with both despair and fury. He sends Desdemona away, while she does not understand why her husband has so suddenly rejected her like that. Not long ago, the loving newlyweds had sung a heartwarming duet: "Now in the starlit nighttime all clamour fades away." Suddenly, she is not even allowed to step close to him.
Most things go down as Iago intended, and the budding mistrust and the misfortunes of others bring him pleasure, of course. The lies snowball and become more risqué for each second. As proof of Desdemona's alleged "infidelity," Iago plants her handkerchief within Cassio's reach. Othello refuses to believe that Desdemona betrays him, and asks for proof when Iago reiterates about her guilt. Then, Iago describes the handkerchief that he says he's seen Cassio wipe his face with. A furious Othello lunges blindly towards unavoidable catastrophe. A dreadful fate awaits the innocents, Cassio and Desdemona.



In Act the Third, Othello demands to see himself the handkerchief that he had given to his wife. But she cannot find it, which Othello takes as a sign of her guilt. Once more, she is sent away by the man in her life, and once more, she feels wounded and wonders why all the love within her husband has left him at once.
In order to destroy all hopes of redemption and forgiveness, Iago sinisterly stages a conversation between himself and Cassio, the latter not knowing that Othello is eavesdropping all along. Although they are actually talking about Cassio's flighty sweetheart Bianca, Iago makes it sound as if the conversation is all about erotic trysts between Desdemona and Cassio. Plus, Iago did plant the handkerchief within the young officer's reach, so that Othello would sooner or later spot it in Cassio's hands. Now Othello's sanity slips completely. His inner world is poisoned with jealousy and fury. Right then and right there, he decides to kill his lustful wife. By his side stands a triumphant Iago who, as reward for his "reveal of the betrayal," receives the much-expected post of aide-de-camp.
Duty calls. An envoy commands Othello to accept a reassignment. The worst thing about this is that he has to subsequently leave his office as governor to one he hates; precisely to Cassio. Even that adds fuel to Othello's fire. In a jealous rage, he pins his wife to the ground. She falls surprised down to the dust while everyone else leaves the room in haste. Attacking his wife fills Othello with mixed emotions. Of course her crime is unforgivable, but he loves her still in spite of that. Overcome by regret, Othello collapses himself in a seizure while Iago, gloating, enjoys. There lies the great warrior of Cyprus helpless, puny, and most recently also an abusive husband.
Act the Fourth takes us into Desdemona's bedchamber, where she prepares for her last night. When she sings a mournful Hail Mary, we understand that she predicts the end of her life is near. Someone awakens her from her sleep with a kiss. It is her husband, who has come to take her life. Inflexible, he commands her to prepare for her death. She defends her innocence, desperate, but he refuses to listen and strangles her. In spite of the fact that she defended her innocence to the last second, he refused to listen to her and reason.
It's too late when Iago's wife Emilia storms in and reveals the truth to Othello; how Iago had distorted the truth and manipulated everyone. It is Iago, and no one else, if someone has betrayed someone else. Othello cradles the lifeless Desdemona and thrusts a dagger through his own chest.
Through the fate of these characters, Shakespeare reminded the world about the powerlessness of naïveté, and the name Iago was forever connected to sinister ambition for power. An operatic audience can feel, through the ear, these timeless characteristics through Verdi's sneaking melodies and unsettling orchestration. Without even breathing a single word, they can perceive from the harmonies how the evil one cleverly hides behind a treetrunk as he smiles and eavesdrops upon a soon-to-be destroyed loving couple.

Bringing Rivals Together 

That this opera came to fruition in the first place is the merit of the publisher, Giulio Ricordi. He was actually the one who brought the composer Verdi and the lyricist Boito together, and encouraged both of them to collaborate. At the start, the two gentlemen were not that sweet on each other. Boito himself was a composer, and thus, a rival of Verdi's to some degree. One of them thought that his colleague's tunes were based upon cheap effects; the other counterattacked this critique by describing the music of the other as too grandiose and impersonal.
Giulio Ricordi gladly wanted to set his mark upon musical history in more ways than just by publishing sheet music and libretti; and he knew that Boito had written a libretto draft with the Othello drama as source material. After some cajoling and coaxing, he contrived to soften the monstrous egoes of both composers. Ricordi made the rivals collaborate. Though, more than once, the project was threatened to fall apart at the seams.
The otherwise so highly-esteemed Verdi thought that Boito had too many points of view regarding composition itself, and wondered why his colleague did not stick to the lyrics. Was it that Boito actually wanted to write the tunes as well? It took a long time for Verdi to recognise the advantage of having a librettist or lyricist who was also a composer.
Their conflicts made both creative artists successfully come closer to one another and one another's creative style. The combination turned out to be one of the most successful in operatic history. With Verdi's original music and Boito's meaning-rich lyrics, Othello quickly won the ears of the audience.
It had taken a decade to finish the opera. This long lapse was due not only to the fact that Othello was a complicated work; much of the delay came due to Verdi's other projects at the time, including his revisions of Don Carlos and Simón Bocanegra.
Expectations surrounding the ur-première at La Scala in 1887 were sky-high. Rarely indeed is it good to hype so much, but this opera succeeded and lived up to the unrealistic expectations of the audience. Othello became the greatest success for a septuagenarian Verdi. More than forty years had transpired since his latest ur-première in the Milanese theatre, and Othello showed that Verdi still belonged to the elite.