Search - Verdi, Monaco, Tebaldi :: Otello

Although Verdi was a lifelong lover of Shakespeare, he did not get a Shakespearean libretto that was worthy of his and Shakespeare's art until late in life. Fellow composer and first-class librettist Arrigo Boito lured Verdi out of retirement with the libretti of Otello and, later, Falstaff, both masterpieces. Age had taken away nothing from Verdi's genius; he rose to the challenge of these libretti with music whose greatness makes one regret that Boito did not go on to King Lear. The title role demands a tenor of great power, and Placido Domingo has it. Renata Scotto's high notes are a bit past their prime, but her characterization of Desdemona is penetrating, and Sherrill Milnes presents a credibly wicked Iago. Levine conducts masterfully. --Joe McLellan