Once again, Zefferelli produces a tour de force after the smash hit that was the 1982 film adaptation of Verdi's La Traviata starring Placido Domingo and Teresa Stratas. Placido Domingo, whom we are led to believe must be Zefferelli's favorite tenor (he never cast Pavoratti in any of his films, though Pavoratti was enjoying immense success at this time as well)is Otello. This is without a doubt his greatest role. He sang it numerous times, more than any other tenor of his time and prior, refining the role each time. No one, not Pavoratti, not Jon Vickers, or even the great Mario Del Monaco compares to the dramatic prowess of Domingo's portrayal. He is at first a noble hero, but eventually becomes a majestic savage, a roaring lion, consumed by jealousy and desire for revenge. Soprano Katia Ricciarelli stars as Desdemona, portraying the wronged heroine with vulnerability and pathos in her soaring voice alone. Bass-baritone Justino Diaz as the villainous and scheming Iago is almost Oscar worthy. His diabolical laughter sends chills down our spine. Zefferelli uses up all the tricks of his sleeve- Renaissance period costumes, authentic detail, color and backdrops (shot in Venice, Italy, which to the Italian Zefferelli is probably only a block away) beautiful people in the cast- even Cassio (Urbano Barberini) is quite good-looking and in a twist performs the role with a bit of ambiguity so as to make us believe that perhaps there is a little truth to Iago's story. He did have a dream in which he was making love to Desdemona and it's not altogether impossible that he wanted her for his own. He does tell him he has tired of Bianca and fallen in love with another woman (Desdemona perhaps ??). From the opening sea storm sequence to the grim finale, we are not only in Zefferelli's world, but we are also in Shakespeares world, for Shakespeare himself would be proud of this version. And to those who nag about Zefferelli cutting some arias or scenes, this means nothing. The "Willow Song" is not dramatically important and its omission does not take away from the dramatic strength and drive of the story. And this is not a full-length stage version but a movie!!! In a movie, we are limited to 2 hours at most, while some operas can last 4 hours. No one will sit through a 4 hour movie, so Zefferelli is wise in taking away some parts. He never loses the integrity of the spirit of the work.
This late opera of Verdi is actually quite difficult to sing and anyone who can master the roles here are especially talented and dedicated to their art. Domingo shines in every scene, from the opening "Exultate!" as he returns home triumphant after defeating the enemy, to the tender love scene with Desdemona in which he recalls his tragic past (he was sold as a slave and taken from his native African soil and Zefferelli effectively uses flashbacks) to all his monologues which border on Laurence Olivier theatrics, to the intense finale in which he stabs Desdemona, he is quite frankly the best. What the world is waiting for, as well as I, is an African-American tenor who can master the role of Otello. For so long, non-black tenors have sung the role using heavy black make-up and body paint to appear black. There is a very limited supply of black men in opera. There have been far more black women as sopranos and mezzo sopranos (Grace Bumbry, Leontyne Price, Shirley Verrett, Jessie Norman, Kathleen Battle, Denyce Graves). Domingo makes a nuanced performance and quite moving. His descent into madness and jealousy is convincing. "Maybe it's because I'm black" he says at one point when he begins to question why Desdemona would turn to another man for love or passion. Surely at this time, a successful, victorious General like Otello, who was black in a white-European world, would cause some jealousy and envy by such people as Iago. Although it may not necessarily be a question of color (Iago, after all, wanted the position of Cassio and perhaps even Otello's own office as the great General and in this way was simply full of envy). This is a great film with top singers giving it their best. I am an opera fan for life after seeing this movie. My favorite moments include- Desdemona's Prayer Scene before she is killed, Iago's blasphemous "Credo" (I believe in a Cruel God") in which he mocks the very establishment of religion, calling Heaven a lie, and praising the evil nature of man. If you notice carefully, we get a lot of the "evil" going-ons deep below the stony vaults of the castle, which represents the lower levels of human nature. Justino Diaz is a particularly devilish Iago, though I would have loved to see Samuel Ramey in the role. Diaz seems to be putting forth only vocal effort and lacks the "slime" he needs in acting/body movements, etc to effectively portray opera and literature's most evil villains.
This late opera of Verdi is actually quite difficult to sing and anyone who can master the roles here are especially talented and dedicated to their art. Domingo shines in every scene, from the opening "Exultate!" as he returns home triumphant after defeating the enemy, to the tender love scene with Desdemona in which he recalls his tragic past (he was sold as a slave and taken from his native African soil and Zefferelli effectively uses flashbacks) to all his monologues which border on Laurence Olivier theatrics, to the intense finale in which he stabs Desdemona, he is quite frankly the best. What the world is waiting for, as well as I, is an African-American tenor who can master the role of Otello. For so long, non-black tenors have sung the role using heavy black make-up and body paint to appear black. There is a very limited supply of black men in opera. There have been far more black women as sopranos and mezzo sopranos (Grace Bumbry, Leontyne Price, Shirley Verrett, Jessie Norman, Kathleen Battle, Denyce Graves). Domingo makes a nuanced performance and quite moving. His descent into madness and jealousy is convincing. "Maybe it's because I'm black" he says at one point when he begins to question why Desdemona would turn to another man for love or passion. Surely at this time, a successful, victorious General like Otello, who was black in a white-European world, would cause some jealousy and envy by such people as Iago. Although it may not necessarily be a question of color (Iago, after all, wanted the position of Cassio and perhaps even Otello's own office as the great General and in this way was simply full of envy). This is a great film with top singers giving it their best. I am an opera fan for life after seeing this movie. My favorite moments include- Desdemona's Prayer Scene before she is killed, Iago's blasphemous "Credo" (I believe in a Cruel God") in which he mocks the very establishment of religion, calling Heaven a lie, and praising the evil nature of man. If you notice carefully, we get a lot of the "evil" going-ons deep below the stony vaults of the castle, which represents the lower levels of human nature. Justino Diaz is a particularly devilish Iago, though I would have loved to see Samuel Ramey in the role. Diaz seems to be putting forth only vocal effort and lacks the "slime" he needs in acting/body movements, etc to effectively portray opera and literature's most evil villains.