Otello

Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello, adapted from Shakespeare’s Othello, first premiered in 1887 at Milan’s La Scala and is often cited as the greatest Italian opera of the 19th century. Set in Cyprus after a victorious battle against the Turks, the story centers on Otello, the conquering general and Moor of Venice, and his beautiful wife, Desdemona. Otello’s officer, Iago, becomes filled with resentment when Otello promotes another officer, Cassio, over him. Iago thus plots and manipulates events, twisting Otello into a jealous rage that destroys his marriage and eventually his life.