VERDI'S OTELLO ON TV TROPES

Theatre / Otello

The 1887 premiere poster for the opera

Otello is a four-act opera by Giuseppe Verdi, set to a libretto by Arrigo Boito, and based off William Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, one he wrote after Aida and which he came out of retirement to compose, and it had a successful premiere at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan on February 5th, 1887. It is also the second of Verdi's three Shakespeare operas, the others being Macbeth and Falstaff.

The opera follows Shakespeare's play quite closely. Otello, a Moorish general, arrives in Cyprus after a victorious battle against the Turks. Unbeknownst to him, he's acquired two enemies: his ensign Iago, for promoting Cassio to aide over Iago himself, and Roderigo, who hates Otello for marrying Desdemona, an Italian noblewoman whom he wanted to marry. Enflamed with jealousy, Iago plots to destroy Otello by turning him against his trusted friends and his beloved Desdemona, using whatever it takes to ensure that Otello is ruined.

As mentioned before, Verdi was about to retire after composing Aida in 1871, and it took his Milan publisher ten years to persuade him to write anything. The composition process was long and took several years, but it proved to be a resounding success. Today, the opera is performed quite frequently as a staple of the worldwide operatic repertoire.

Verdi's opera provides examples of:

• Adapted Out: Bianca, Cassio’s lover, removed from the opera as a ghost character. So instead of Lodovico being a relative of Desdemona, he’s now an ambassador of the Venetian Republic.
• Almost Dead Guy: Despite having been strangled by Otello, Desdemona manages to sing her last words in which she forgives him before dying.
• Ambiguously Brown: Otello, just like in Shakespeare’s play. Likewise, many white tenors have sung his role in blackface, which further complicates his race, though he’s mostly viewed as a black man in this adaptation. There’s also the fact that he’s been sung by quite a few black tenors recently.
• Bittersweet Ending: Iago’s evil plot and scheming is exposed by Emilia (who lives!), but Desdemona and Otello are both dead now.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Iago’s Act II aria, “Credo in un Dio crudel”, literally translates to “I believe in a cruel God”, where he sings that no human is born good-hearted.
• The Chessmaster: Iago, of course.
• Costume Porn: Traditional productions have some lovely◊ 16th-century◊ Italian◊ clothes◊ for every single character in the opera.
• Crowd Song: “Una vela” in Act I, and an epic one at that.
• Dramatic Thunder: During “Una vela”, there’s a storm raging as the Cypriots are anxiously awaiting Otello’s arrival in the harbour, praying that his ship doesn’t sink.
• Despair Event Horizon: Otello crosses this after he realizes that Desdemona was innocent, and commits suicide as a result.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Iago, furious that Otello gave his promotion to Cassio, vows to destroy Otello’s life, just like in Shakespeare’s play.
• Establishing Character Moment: Here, Iago's moment is when he prays that Otello dies at sea in Act I.
• Evil Plan: Iago’s plan to destroy Otello’s life, much like in Shakespeare’s play.
• Evil Sounds Deep: Iago is a baritone role, and he’s perhaps one of the most evilest characters in opera. Averted with Lodovico, a bass role.
• Fatal Flaw: Otello’s jealousy.
• Friend to All Children: Desdemona is shown to be one in Act II, when several children come to present her with gifts and wish her happiness.
• Gorgeous Period Dress: Traditional productions will always give Desdemona◊ some gorgeous◊ 16th-century◊ Italian gowns.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Like the play, jealousy is a major theme of the opera.
• The Ingenue: Desdemona has shades of this.
• Let's Duet: Otello and Desdemona’s Act I duet, “Gia nella notte densa s’estingue ogni clamor”.
• Mistaken for Cheating: With disastrous results.
• Murder-Suicide: Otello realizes that Desdemona was innocent after murdering her. Wracked with guilt, Otello stabs himself in the hopes of joining her.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Otello and Emilia.
• Near-Villain Victory: Iago almost gets away with his plan, but thanks to Emilia, Cassio, and Montano, he doesn’t.
• Ode to Intoxication: “Inaffia l’ugola”, the drinking song that Iago sings in Act I.
• Poor Communication Kills: Yet again, just like in the play.
• Scenery Porn: Elijah Moshinsky's production at the Met Opera has some very◊ lush◊ and beautiful◊ backdrops◊ for Cyprus.
• Signature Item Clue: The handkerchief is just as significant here as it is in the play.
• Spared by the Adaptation: While Emilia is killed in Shakespeare’s play, she lives in the opera and successfully exposes Iago’s manipulations.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: Otello and Desdemona.
• Tenor Boy: Otello has some shades of this, but he’s a dramatic tenor, and is thus way more manly than boyish. Cassio, on the other hand, seems to fit the bill more.
• Villain Song: “Credo in un Dio crudel” is one of the defining villain arias in opera.

Trivia / Otello

• All-Star Cast: As Otello, Desdemona, and Iago...
  • Audio Recording:
    • 1954, conducted by Alberto Erede: Mario Del Monaco, Renata Tebaldi, Aldo Protti
    • 1960, conducted by Tullio Serafin: Jon Vickers, Leonie Rysanek, Tito Gobbi
    • 1976, conducted by Carlos Kleiber: Plácido Domingo, Mirella Freni, Piero Cappuccilli
    • 1992, conducted by Georg Solti: Luciano Pavarotti, Kiri Te Kanawa, Leo Nucci
  • Video Recording:
    • 1978, conducted by James Levine at the Met Opera: Jon Vickers, Renata Scotto, Cornell Mac Neil
    • 1995, conducted by James Levine at the Met Opera (again): Plácido Domingo, Renée Fleming, James Morris.
• California Doubling: Franco Zeffirelli's 1986 film adaptation of the opera was filmed in Heraklion, Crete.

Your Mileage May Vary / Otello

• Adaptation Displacement: Before Verdi, Gioachino Rossini had also done an opera called Otello. However, that deviates heavily from Shakespeare's play, instead being based on a free French adaptation of the story, whereas Verdi's opera is much more faithful to Shakespeare's version. Guess which one is most performed today?
• Awesome Music: It's Verdi, after all. Special mention goes to "Una vela!", "Già nella notte densa", and the hauntingly beautiful Willow Song.
• Broken Base: The use of blackface for Otello. For many years, white tenors have used blackface when singing Otello, and only in 2015 did the Met Opera stop using it. Some people argue that using dark makeup is simply a matter of costuming, and not a true example of racist blackface, but it's safe to say that it's a controversial topic in this current day and age.
• Nightmare Fuel: Act IV really escalates in nightmare fuel. Desdemona's Willow Song is haunting, and the music that plays when Otello enters the bedroom is very sinister and foreboding, and in the moments leading up to Desdemona's death, the music really becomes almost terrifying as it conveys the anger and downfall of a good man. In addition, Iago's "Credo" aria is quite frightening as well.
• Tear Jerker: You can expect this, since it's based off Shakespeare's original tragedy, of course. But Act IV is filled with this. First, there's Desdemona's "Ave Maria", and also Otello's "Niun mi tema", right after he realizes the truth and that Desdemona was innocent, is downright painful to listen to. And of course, his suicide and the moments where he sings his last lines before dying is also quite heartwrenching.
• The Woobie: Just like Shakespeare's play, we have Desdemona and Otello, in which their loving marriage is destroyed violently due to Iago's cruel manipulation of Otello.