January 17, 2016: Otello in Wiesbaden

2016-01-17 Otello (Verdi), Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden

Otello = José Cura

Desdemona = Cristina Pasaroiu

Iago = Matias Tosi

Cassio = Aaron Cawley

Roderigo = Benedikt Nawrath

Lodovico = Young Doo Park

Emilia = Celeste Haworth

Montano = Nathaniel Webster

A Herald = Christian Balzer

Bianca = Rosa Alt

Leo McFall, conductor

Chor, Extrachor, Jugendchor & Statisterie des Hessischen Staatstheaters Wiesbaden, Hessisches Staatsorchester Wiesbaden

Director - Uwe Eric Laufenberg

Stage Designer - Gisbert Jäkel

Costume Designer - Jessica Karge

Lighting Designer - Andreas Frank

Chorus Master - Albert Horne

Dramaturgy - Regine Palma

Once again and it is Jose Cura as Otello. This time in Wiesbaden.

He was great and this time one could understand why Otello behave as he does because this time we have a Jago who you can see how other people could trust hime. He is a villain, no doubt about that and nothing good is in him.

A great cast. Amazing Otello, Desdemona and Jago. All the other roles was also well. And we have Bianca.

The person-regie was amazing, all the details was there. I really did not like all the sexing and alll that, men are are brutes, women are whores. So cheap to go that way.

So some love and some meh!

OD Travel & Photos
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November 28, 1989: Otello in Oslo

1989-11-28 Otello (Verdi), Den Norske Opera (Oslo)

Otello = Osvaldo di Pianduni
Desdemona = Frøydis Klausberger
Iago = Knut Skram
Emilia = Torhild Staahlen
Cassio = Arild Helleland
Rodrigo = Stein Erik Sagbråten
Lodovico = Bjørn Mørch-Olsen
Montano = Jens Olai Justvik

Martin Turnovsky, conductor

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November 22, 2011: Otello in Zurich

2011-11-22 Otello (Verdi), Opernhaus Zurich

Otello = José Cura
Desdemona = Fiorenza Cedolins
Jago = Thomas Hampson
Cassio = Stefan Pop
Emilia = Stefania Kaluza
Roderigo = Benjamin Bernheim
Lodovico = Pavel Daniluk
Montano = Tomasz Slawinski
Un arraldo = Evgeny Sevastyanov

Daniele Gatti, conductor

Producer/production - Graham Vick
Set design - Paul Brown
Costumes - Paul Brown
Lighting - Jürgen Hoffmann
Choir rehearsal - Jürg Hämmerli

I am thoroughly offended by Graham Vick's Otello

It is not just the most heavyhanded regie of all heavyhanded regie. It is not Giuseppe Verdi's Otello anymore, even as the singing and music was beautiful, it was just too racist. If Vick wanted to say that racism was bad, why all the racist imaginery and no outrage.

From the moment I saw the desk on stage and understood that Otello would be onstage during the chorus singing during the "storm" that they see the sail of Otello's ship I knew it would be bad. But I still did not think it that bad. Then as Otello was seated at his desk, he blackened his face in a military vein, but the chorus found themselves suddenly blackened from the palm of their hands too so they went mad. All this happened while singing Verdi's music and Boito's text that certainly was about something else, stupid and offensive in so many ways... "Esultate! L'orgoglio musulmano" when Otello walking from the desk and to the microphone and of course a text window the words "Esultate l'orgoglio musulmano sepolto in mar" repeated over and over again. Then it is Jago and Rodrigo talking. Of course offensive posters come and go during the whole opera... "Fuoco di gioia" the people sing it naturally with video of fire destroying oil fields, houses etc, planes with deadly cargo and white people singing about the joys of fire (destruction). And we are still just a few minutes into the opera... I wanted off this madness, but it had just begun.

So "Roderigo, beviam" starts with a tanks coming onstage. New idea, not. The tanks has Cassio and Monna Bianca making out. And naturally almost all the other people onstage is engaged in something slightly sexual. Old idea, yes. Rodrigo makes Cassio drunk with a drinking competion. OK. Then of course Montano comes and Cassio is goaded into fighting. Then Otello comes out and stops it. One thing that was good in this production and with Thomas Hampson as Jago was that one could see why Otello trusts Jago. Hampson makes Jago a man who on the surface is a friendly man, and of course Otello can see only skin deep. Except one thing that hampers this production is that no matter how great an Otello Jose Cura is in this production he is a white man so why do people call him a moor?

Desdemona comes out still in her white wedding dress. But everybody is dressed in white except Cassio, Rodrigo and other military men, Otello wears white too. Finally it is time for the love duet. Fiorenza Cedolins is Desdemona, but although she is Italian and the opera is in Italian it is very hard to understand what she is singing. All the others poses no such problem. Cedolins is a fine actress but I don't feel she is a Desdemona yet.

Would the second act be better? No. Instead of a tank on stage now it is an burnt-out car and a few palm trees for the garden of Desdemona. Jago talks to Cassio, and then Jago's Credo. Naturally with children, 6 boys, possibly muslem boys. Why? Modern directors distrusts monologues. Stupid and offensive use of children, and it does not even make sense why they are so obedient and how do they know what to do. Then naturally everything goes as Jago plans, even Otello comes in the right moment. Desdemona with children and adults singing her praise, while Emilia takes photos of Desdemona with various muslem people, they are behind barbed wire. Are we in Iraq or in Cyprus? Vick seems to be in Iraq, Verdi in Cyprus. I choose Verdi and declare that Vick does not make sense. Luckily the interaction between Jago and Otello is believable and the quartet between Otello, Desdemona, Jago, Emilia is also great interaction and singing. Jago manages to make Otello believe in Desdemona's guilt.

After the interval back to Vick's Otello. Act 3 a video camera, different big flags, and a tribune for the people to sit on. A table with wine and glasses, a white sofa, a white chair. Otello in white military suit. Jago in a very formal and black militar suit, he almost looks like a general. The camera man is dismissed when Desdemona comes in, Desdemona and Otello each gets their playing with the camera. Desdemona playful in the beginning of the duet, Otello sinister later on. I think this was good acting.

Then "that awful word". The stage hands brought in a big poster of two white hands clasping, peace. The poster of peace was there to hide Otello so that he could see and listen to Jago and Cassio without Cassio noticing. Then the back was turned to Otello, in this production a White Man, on that space it said "nigger". Not only was it there, but it was only reacted on by Otello and for such a short time. Nobody on stage reacted. Jago did not blink, the stage hands. Had Graham Vick taken all the other offensive ideas and posters and left that word, still that word sinks the whole work. Why such an offense without at least some outrage about the racism? Why? If Vick wanted to make a statement and making Otello anti-racist he managed just the opposite.

Then the stage is set for videotaping of Lodovico giving Otello the letter from the Venetian Doge. So Otello's nasty asides to Desdemona while he on microphone, it makes sense? And then "A terra e piangi" where Desdemona instead of walking nobly and firmly to the indicated spot Cedolins chooses to almost faint. Otello sits on the sofa and eats the letter from the Doge, yes he is now mad. Then he shouts " all out" and Jago can gloat who will prevent me from killing him. Ecco il leone, indeed.

4 act is really mostly like all Otello's except there is no bed.

Offensive and stupid I am glad I never have to see this again. To all who was offended by this production I say I AM SO SORRY. This

 was racist shit but it was not Shakespeare, Verdi or Boito's fault. You know who I blame. 

OD Travel + Photos

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November 9, 2013: Otello in Berlin

2013-11-09 Otello (Verdi), Deutsche Oper Berlin

Otello = José Cura
Desdemona = Barbara Frittoli
Jago = Marco Vratogna
Emilia = Katarina Bradic
Cassio = Matthew Newlin
Rodrigo = Clemens Bieber
Lodovico = Seth Carico
Ein Herald = Andrew Harris

Donald Runnicles, conductor

Director - Andreas Kriegenburg
Stage-design - Harald Thor
Costume-design - Andrea Schraad
Dramaturgie - Katharina John
Choir Conductor - William Spaulding
Children's Choir - Christian Lindhorst
Choreography - Zenta Haerter

I had forgotten how much I disliked this production when I saw it at the premiere, 30.05.2010. I felt no outrage this time just boredom. It was the female ballet dancer in the back of the stage that annoyed me. The dancing was as a comment to Jago's narration of the Cassio's dream. In one way a good idea. But the placement of the dancer in the stage room meant that I could either watch the dancer or the singers, and that made it a bad execution of an idea that could have been good. I wanted to see and understand the dynamics between Jago and Cassio but the movement of the dancer forced my eyes away from my goal. Putting distractions onstage is not good theatre. And do untimately this is the failing of the director Andreas Kriegenburg, the production itself works as a distraction against Verdi's Otello.

In midst of it all, here comes Otello, Jose Cura. Placido Domingo used to be the ultimate Otello, now we have Cura. From the moment Jose Cura comes in it becomes a better show, finally it is possible to throw oneself into the work. I have seem him several times as Otello before and in different productions but this was the best performance with the most beautiful and sublime phrased singing and a overwhelming acting. He was good before too but here is the matured Otello, the excellence that comes from being Otello in so many different productions.

In one way we could say Cura singlehandedly a dull production to an exciting experience. To be fair I must say that Donald Runnicles conducting was a great part of the success. Marco Vratogna was singing and acting as if the role of Jago was tailormade for him. Barbara Frittoli was excellent as Desdemona, so warm. The vibrato was heavy in the first minutes but then the nervousness left and the lush, warm tones shone from Barbara Frittoli. Katarina Bradic sang and acted Emilia wonderfully. She made fine portrait of her role. Matthew Newlin made an excellent debut as Cassio. He was a joy to see and listen to.

After such a fine opera evening what can be better than to meet afterwards "backstage" with fans from  the Nordic Countries, Germany, Austria, Hungary, France, USA to name a few places. I guess Marco Vratogna was the MC-guy, Barbara Frittoli was also soon off. Jose Cura talked to his fans while the photos was flashing.

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September 17, 2013: Otello in Vienna

2013-09-17 Otello (Verdi), Wiener Staatsoper

Otello = José Cura
Desdemona = Anja Harteros
Jago = Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Emilia = Monika Bohinec
Cassio = Marian Talaba
Rodrigo = Jinxu Xiahou
Lodovico = Alexandru Moisiu
Montano = Mihail Dogotari
Ein Herald =

Dan Ettinger, conductor

Director - Christine Mielitz
Stage-design - Christian Floeren

Costume-design - Christian Floeren

Siberian tiger and Anja Harteros (September 17, 2013)

2013-09-17 Otello (Verdi), Wiener Staatsoper
Otello = José Cura
Desdemona = Anja Harteros
Jago = Dmitri Hvorostovsky

Dan Ettinger, conductor



The Siberian tiger, that was too easy. Dmitri Hvorostovsky, baritone from Sibiria.

With the words Otello and Argentinian that was José Cura, tenor from Argentina. But why did I say mountain lion. Well, I really wanted to say lion but they do not live in Argentina, mountain lions do.  Anyway Otello is called the lion of Venice and onstage José Cura was often on four legs like a powerful predator.

Anja Harteros is Anja Harteros, the German soprano.

News!! I now saw that sometimes the chorus was in black and red. The red on the black as red as blood. Other news sometimes the video showed clouds and not the raging sea, some times one could see something else and sometimes it was just black as nothing.

It really did not make much sense and it was boring. Boring color changes. The singing was glorious. Everybody deserved a much better production.  BIG NEWS! José Cura was well and in good humour. The nicest tenor ever!!

OD Travel & Photos
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September 14, 2013: Otello in Vienna

2013-09-14 Otello (Verdi), Wiener Staatsoper

Otello = José Cura
Desdemona = Anja Harteros
Jago = Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Emilia = Monika Bohinec
Cassio = Marian Talaba
Rodrigo = Jinxu Xiahou
Lodovico = Alexandru Moisiu
Montano = Mihail Dogotari
Ein Herald =

Dan Ettinger, conductor

Director - Christine Mielitz
Stage-design - Christian Floeren

Costume-design - Christian Floeren

2013-09-14 OTELLO (Verdi), Wiener Staatsoper
Otello = José Cura
Desdemona = Anja Harteros
Jago = Dmitry Hvorostvsky

Conductor Dan Ettinger

When the opera started I thought the production would be about Martians and Otello coming home in an UFO. But no, this production was about colours. The light had a busy evening, going from all different colours. The coloring seemed to follow the score and the feelings. A wall of video of waters, the sea frothing in colors matching the partiture of Verdi (I guess). Other than that it was Desdemona dressed in white, angelic and pure (you know), the powerful ones in black and white except Jago, he is evil (you know). The people in black but red hands, and Nothing Explains That.

It was a very static production. The good news is: I did not fall asleep and José Cura was wonderful even though the production was eh, and he had severe back pain. Cura, the hero, fought to bring some real passion here. He even used the pain he was in physically to make his Otello really come through. A true warrior. Anja Harteros voice may not be perfect for poor, innocent Desdemona. But she is really the Soprano at the moment, wonderful in her Verdi roles. Hvorostovsky became better all through the evening, but I realised that I love deeper voices as Jago, like Ruggero Raimondi etc.


Poor Cura! After the opera he had to meet his fans at the stage door. Inside it was hot from all those fans. Outside it was rather chilly. He loved the conductor, Dan Ettinger. As a conductor himself he should know, and after so many Otellos, he knows.

OD Travel & Photos
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July 13, 2002: Otello in Zurich

2002-07-13 Otello (Verdi), Opernhaus Zurich
Otello = José Cura
Desdemona = Daniela Dessì
Jago = Ruggero Raimondi
Cassio = Antonello Palombi
Emilia = Brigitte Pinter
Roderigo = Miroslav Christoff
Lodovico = Pavel Daniluk
Montano = Valeriy Murga
Un arraldo = Michael Mirosek

Vladimir Fedoseyev, conductor

OPERNHAUS ZURICH Verdi: OTELLO
Musikalische Leitung VLADIMIR FEDOSEYEV
Inszenierung SVEN-ERIC BECHTOLF
Bühnenbild ROLF GLITTENBERG
Kostüme MARIANNE GLITTENBERG
Lichtgestaltung JÜRGEN HOFFMANN
Chor ERNST RAFFELSBERGER
CHOR DES OPERNHAUSES ZÜRICH
ZUSATZCHOR OPERNHAUS ZÜRICH
KINDERCHOR DES OPERNHAUSES ZÜRICH
ORCHESTER DER OPER ZÜRICH
EIN KULTUR-ENGAGEMENT DER CREDIT SUISSE PRIVATE BANKING
Samstag, 13. Juli 2002
FREIER VERKAUF
PAUSE NACH DEM 2. AKT
BEGINN: 19.00 UHR ENDE: ca. 22.15 UHR
Musikalische Assistenz und Einstudierung ENRICO CACClARI, THOMAS BARTHEL Abendspielleitung und Regieassistenz CLAUDIA BLERSCH
Bühnenbildassistenz MARIO FERRARA
Kostümassistenz AMELIE HAAS
Regiehospitanz EVA FISCHLlN
Organisation und Betreuung der Kinder SUSY SIEGRIST
Inspizienz SUSANN ZAHLER
Souffleur ADRIANO

Wonderful Cura, Dessì & Raimondi Otello in Space, but still Verdi's Otello. The backdrop is a cinematic view of the stars, as if on a space-ship. This modernism is not doing anything for the opera, so I will go straight into the matter. Otello, the opera, as theater and singing considered. The Chorus was weak, especially in the beginning of the opera, I think the Zurich opera needs more singers in the chorus. The children's chorus was excellent. Ruggero Raimondi was in full rigor as Jago, excellent singing and acting. Roderigo did his part well enough, but his voice was weak. Cassio was a bigger voiced tenor than I am used to in Otello performances, here we had a match for Cura, a future Otello no-doubt. José Cura as Otello, I liked him, but still Plácido Domingo's interpretation of the role is too vivid in my mind that I can fully appreciate Cura's because they are quite different. Daniela Dessì was a brilliant and young Desdemona, perfect in all ways. Emilia was also great in this performance.

OD Travel + Photos

July 5, 2005: Otello in Munich

2005-07-05 Otello (Verdi), Opern-Festspiele, Munich

Otello = José Cura
Desdemona = Barbara Frittoli
Jago = Sergei Leiferkus
Emilia = Hannah Esther Minutillo
Cassio = Raymond Very
Rodrigo = Kevin Conners
Lodovico = Maurizio Muraro
Montano = Steven Humes
Ein Herald = Matthias Wippich

Zubin Mehta, conductor



Otello

Giuseppe Verdi
Arrigo Boito



Conductor Zubin Mehta
Regie Francesca Zambello
Scenography and costumes Alison Chitty
Choreography Alphonse Poulin
Light Mimi Jordan Sherin
Chorus Andrés Máspero


This time I did not have just a standing room ticket, but I sat on the first row. And I could see everything. Naturally having seen this Otello before on July 2nd meant that there were no surprises. But this time I could see the whole stage and see what was happening deep down on the stage. It was a wonderful Otello on July the 2nd, and it was actually even better this time. Jose Cura's interpretation of Otello's agony is very physical even at the edge of portraying Otello as a psychological unstable person, very much in the way Cura did Don Carlo in Zurich. But nevertheless, it works. The Regie works, Francesca Zambello did another masterwork of Verdi's great Masterpiece Otello based on Shakespeare's Masterpiece. This would not have been surprising had one not seen so many of the masterpieces of Opera destroyed by the scandal- or ego-driven directors. This time Otello was Otello.

The conductor Zubin Mehta held everything in his hands, and Orchestra & Chorus and the whole Ensemble responded magnificently. Barbara Frittoli had her eye-twitching movements but sang and acted as the great Desdemona she is. Hannah Esther Minutillo was equally a total Emilia, blending and acting well in duets, ensembles etc. Raymond Very as Cassio did a very well indeed. I have read some criticism of Sergei Leiferkus' Jago but I do not think that is fair. He was a very good Jago, someone who you could believe that others would think him honest and true, his malice subdued.

Sadly I had to go before all the applause was ended because I had a train to catch, since this was my last opera in my Summer Opera Holiday 2005.

OD Travel + Photos

July 2, 2005: Otello in Munich

2005-07-02 Otello (Verdi), Opern-Festspiele, Munich

Otello = José Cura
Desdemona = Barbara Frittoli
Jago = Sergei Leiferkus
Emilia = Hannah Esther Minutillo
Cassio = Raymond Very
Rodrigo = Kevin Conners
Lodovico = Maurizio Muraro
Montano = Steven Humes
Ein Herold = Matthias Wippich

Zubin Mehta, conductor



Regie Francesca Zambello
Scenography and costumes Alison Chitty
Choreography Alphonse Poulin
Light Mimi Jordan Sherin
Chorus Andrés Máspero



From Verona, Parma, and Torino when I had seen Aida, Werther and Nabucco I was on my way to Berlin. Had planned to take the night train to Berlin from Munich. But knowing that Jose Cura would sing Otello in Munich I decided to try my luck for a ticket in Munich, knowing that it was all sold out, hoping that somebody would be having an extra ticket. And I was at the Theatre 10 minutes before Otello was starting. 5 minutes before 19 I had my ticket for standing room only. It was a hot day and I was already quite tired, but luckily it was a bar to hang on there and I was so happy it had one pause of 30 minutes to sit and drink a little. It was heavy air to stand there and hot. It was a wonderful Otello and I could see the whole stage of course something's was not so visible if I bent down a bit I could see the subtitles.

It was a Francesca Zambello production and it was a the most wonderful Otello production seen until then. All in splendid form. Jose Cura, Barbara Frittoli was wonderful as Otello and Desdemona. Leiferkus was great as Jago. Cassio was also wonderful. Emilia was a dream. It was a dream Otello.

And after the opera Jose Cura was signing. Long was the wait, and unruly the queue. But he came and so many JCx friends were there. And after all this, a late dinner for JCx in a nearby Stube. At 1 the Stube had to close and so I had to find a hotel for the rest of the night, and I found it close to Hauptbahnhof.

OD Travel + Photos

July 2, 2005: Otello in Munich

2005-07-02 Otello (Verdi), Opern-Festspiele, Munich

Otello = José Cura
Desdemona = Barbara Frittoli
Jago = Sergei Leiferkus
Emilia = Hannah Esther Minutillo
Cassio = Raymond Very
Rodrigo = Kevin Conners
Lodovico = Maurizio Muraro
Montano = Steven Humes
Ein Herold = Matthias Wippich

Zubin Mehta, conductor



Regie Francesca Zambello
Scenography and costumes Alison Chitty
Choreography Alphonse Poulin
Light Mimi Jordan Sherin
Chorus Andrés Máspero



From Verona, Parma, and Torino when I had seen Aida, Werther and Nabucco I was on my way to Berlin. Had planned to take the night train to Berlin from Munich. But knowing that Jose Cura would sing Otello in Munich I decided to try my luck for a ticket in Munich, knowing that it was all sold out, hoping that somebody would be having an extra ticket. And I was at the Theatre 10 minutes before Otello was starting. 5 minutes before 19 I had my ticket for standing room only. It was a hot day and I was already quite tired, but luckily it was a bar to hang on there and I was so happy it had one pause of 30 minutes to sit and drink a little. It was heavy air to stand there and hot. It was a wonderful Otello and I could see the whole stage of course something's was not so visible if I bent down a bit I could see the subtitles.

It was a Francesca Zambello production and it was a the most wonderful Otello production seen until then. All in splendid form. Jose Cura, Barbara Frittoli was wonderful as Otello and Desdemona. Leiferkus was great as Jago. Cassio was also wonderful. Emilia was a dream. It was a dream Otello.

And after the opera Jose Cura was signing. Long was the wait, and unruly the queue. But he came and so many JCx friends were there. And after all this, a late dinner for JCx in a nearby Stube. At 1 the Stube had to close and so I had to find a hotel for the rest of the night, and I found it close to Hauptbahnhof.

OD Travel + Photos

June 5, 2004: Otello in Hamburg

2004-06-05 Otello (Verdi), Hamburgische Staatsoper

Otello = José Cura
Desdemona = Barbara Frittoli
Jago = Lado Ataneli
Emilia = Yvi Jänicke
Cassio = Peter Galliard
Rodrigo = Ho-yoon Chung
Lodovico = Alexander Tsymbalyuk
Montano = Carl Schultz
Herold = Moritz Gogg

Philippe Auguin, conductor



Chorus: Florian Csizmadia


5.6. Shopping in Hamburg, finding out where to go. Following the crowd most of the time. And then it was opera-time. This time was a better Otello performance. From the first note of the orchestra I knew it would be great. The orchestra and chorus was together. I thought that all the singers was better. It was really dramatic and wonderful. None of the former critical remarks of this production bothered me. And audience was totally committed to applauds and Bravos, and the singers seemed forever to go out and great the applauds.

And I saw Lado Anteli and Jose Cura afterwards and got some nice photos of them. And then 25(?) JCx-members enjoyed Restaurant Opera until it was 0130.

OD Travel + Photos

May 30, 2010: Otello in Berlin

2010-05-30 Otello (Verdi), Deutsche Oper Berlin

Otello = José Cura
Desdemona = Anja Harteros
Jago = Zeljko Lucic
Emilia = Liane Keegan
Cassio = Yosep Kang
Rodrigo = Gregory Warren
Lodovico = Hyung-Wook Lee
Montano = Jörn Schümann
Ein Herald = Lucas Harbour

Patrick Summers, conductor

Premiere
Sonntag, 30.05.2010, 18:00 Uhr
Dauer: ca. 3 Stunden | Eine Pause

D-Preise: 36,- | 62,- | 87,- | 120,- Ticket online kaufen
[zuzüglich EUR 2,- Service-Gebühr]

Giuseppe Verdi
Otello
Dramma lirico in vier Akten
Libretto von Arrigo Boito nach Shakespeares Tragödie OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE
Uraufführung am 5.Februar 1887 in Mailand
Premiere an der Deutschen Oper Berlin am 30. Mai 2010

In italienischer Sprache mit deutschen Übertiteln


Conductor
Patrick Summers

Director
Andreas Kriegenburg

Stage-design
Harald Thor

Costume-design
Andrea Schraad

Dramaturge
Katharina John

Choir Conductor
William Spaulding

Children's Choir
Dagmar Fiebach

Artistic-production-manager
Christian Baier





Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin


Kinderchor der Deutschen Oper Berlin


Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin

It is all happening in a refugee camp. For those who loved this Otello, this is genius. For other people it is just a big question mark, why? Because it doesn't make sense. It does not do anything for the story. The refugees are interned in a camp. There is little to do except to watch and hope for some money and something to eat. To care about the African refugees that are in those refugee camps in Europe is a worthy cause, to use them are a mere backdrop for an opera is not.

There are nothing here to give you empathy for the refugees. They are simply the chorus, a mass of people. A heavily pregnant woman, children who are starting drinking alcohol and with drugs. Children who see too much. The children have to eat from the garbage brought in from the outside. The children are there so that Jago has his audience for his Credo. These children are not scared of hell, they are there. They are not scared of emptiness because that is all they have. The children can be played to be hide Otello when needed. They only cost a few coins and then you are a wall to hide behind because in this refugee camp nobody notices the children unless they need them.

But why care? It even starts with de-sensitive us. Before the music starts, the curtain goes up and the chorus just stands there, and then some of them put on black masks on their faces. Oh yes, this means that we should understand, what really? That we are all Otello? Or should it mean that there are Africans in this refugee camp. Or is that when those who loved this Otello understood that it happens in a refugee camp. Because for me it just told me that it is all a fake. Especially the Regie. It does not think or feel but most importantly it does not make the audience feel. Intellectually understanding the idea behind the Regie is one thing (and I found that hard) but Opera is Feelings not an University Degree.

And the there was the dancing in the background. But Otello is an Opera not a Ballet. It was not the worst idea but it was more distracting than giving anything to the audience. The people behind this Otello did not trust the audience to feel the pain of Otello and Desdemona. They even thought we needed children surrounding Desdemona in the scene Nel livido fango to understand how innocent this Desdemona is. No, Verdi and Boito have already made us aware. We are not stupid.

In the end there was a lot of Buh's and some Bravo's for the people behind this production. For the singers it was BRAVO's all the time. So much so that those who wanted to Buh the production team all the time did not do so much when the singers was there.

In the critic I have the read there seem to be a trend if they loved the Regie they did not like the conductor and vice versa. The singers were all wonderful, loved the sound of the chorus, and orchestra. I think Patrick Summers did well. The Children chorus was good.

Yosep Kang was wonderful as Cassio. Anja Harteros was the best Desdemona I have seen. José Cura was superb as Otello. Zeljko Lucic was Jago, good singer and actor. Liane Keegan has a great voice that soars. She not only has a big voice but a big body too but luckily here she was simply Emilia, Jago's wife and Desdemona's friend and not a caricature of a big woman.

BRAVA, Anja Harteros
BRAVA, Liane Keegan

BRAVO, José Cura

Blog post: Premiere of OTELLO in Berlin May 30, 2010


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May 29, 2004: Otello in Hamburg

2004-05-29 Otello (Verdi), Hamburgische Staatsoper

Otello = José Cura
Desdemona = Barbara Frittoli
Jago = Lado Ataneli
Emilia = Yvi Jänicke
Cassio = Peter Galliard
Rodrigo = Ho-yoon Chung
Lodovico = Alexander Tsymbalyuk
Montano = Carl Schultz
Herold = Moritz Gogg

Philippe Auguin, conductor



Chorus: Florian Csizmadia



Otello (G. Verdi) 1930. Jose Cura, Barbara Frittoli and Lado Ataneli.

Act 1 The conductor was Philippe Auguin. From the first note of Otello I was disappointed. I blame the conductor. The musical dynamics was missing. All emotions and situations on the stage was conducted alike. The orchestra was loud and quiet, loud and quiet without any musical reason. The chorus suffered and the principals suffered too. Otello's "Esultate!" came to me as a three-parted voice of Cura, it was not together. I missed a greater scene-presence when Lado Ataneli sang, he sang well, but lacked the zeal of Ruggero Raimondi. The love duet was wonderfully sung and acted by Cura & Frittoli. Because of the slow tempi when BF sang Amen in "Amen risponda" she had trouble getting her full voice in specifically in the "A---men". The act ended with the couple on the beach, with the pier and and the red full moon behind them

Act 2. Jago's Credo was wonderfully sung by Lado Ataneli, but the menace that Ruggero Raimondi had was not there, I missed that. The beautiful quartet ended act 2, but it had couple of inaccuracies in timing, or rather almost inaccuracies. (forgot: that after the quartet followed "Tu, indietro!", and narrating the "dream" that he says Cassio had, and of course, "Si pel ciel marmoreo giuro")

First real intermission between act 2 & 3.

Act 3. The action in on the stairs of the castle. It was all truly great. For me the only thing is that I found that Otello was falling down too many times for me. But the singing and acting of Jose Cura was a first class act. BRAVO, CURA!

Act 4. Barbara Frittoli is a great Desdemona. The idea of seeing the wind blow in the curtains (we could actually see that there were hands moving the white curtains) was rather stupid, I find. It was not necessary at the beginning of first act and not even when Emilia sang "E il vento!" (It's the wind) was it necessary, the audience is not stupid. Then Otello, Jose Cura, came. The tension is high, and they are just great, Cura & Frittoli. But when Emilia cries Murder so very few comes, just the key players, and before Cura sings "Niun mi tema" they are gone, only the dead Desdemona and Otello is left on stage. "Niun mi tema" - "Nobody be afraid", but there is nobody there!? And when Otello sing "Un bacio!" and the music reminiscence of the love duet in act 1, the stage darkens, and we see the pier and the full moon of act 1. Cute, but we are not stupid. The Music tells it all much better.
After the opera a lot of JCx is waiting for Cura to come backstage, Lado comes first, then it is finally Cura. And when the crowd is satisfied. Ten JCx ends the day in the restaurant Opera with a drink and some salad.

At 0100 in bed.

OD Travel + Photos