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Verdi’s Otello

opera • Shakespeare • heart-breaking • secrets
  • Filmed Performance
  • Met Opera on Demand
  • The Metropolitan Opera
  • Free
Verdi’s Otello - Met Opera on Demand | Thespie

In his towering penultimate opera, Verdi distills Shakespeare’s tragedy to its purest elements and demonstrates his unsurpassed mastery of characterization and pacing. Unlike his earlier works, which featured many memorable, self-contained arias, duets, and ensemble numbers, Otello proceeds almost seamlessly, with no interruption of the dramatic momentum. Iago’s duplicity, Desdemona’s wrongful death, Otello’s fall—all are made overwhelmingly visceral in a work that shows both Verdi and opera itself at the height of their powers.

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