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City A.M., 22 June 2017 |
George Thomson |
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Verdi: Otello, Royal Opera House, London, 21. Juni 2017 |
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Otello at the Royal Opera House review: Jonas Kaufmann is revelatory in this opera
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Verdi's Otello, at the Royal Opera House, is a revelation. Based on
Shakespeare's Othello, the story of love, jealousy and treachery is
immediately familiar. What makes this production extraordinary, however, is
star tenor Jonas Kaufmann, performing the title role for the first time.
In his autobiography, Placido Domingo – the most prodigious operatic
Moor of Venice – set out a long genealogy of the greats who tackled the part
before him. It stretches back to the premier performance, 130 years ago at
la Scala, detailing how each luminary was compared unfavourably to their
immediate predecessor. So it is reasonable to ask, how does Kaufmann compare
to this most famous of modern tenors?
Simply put, Kaufmann is the
great Otello for this generation of opera lovers. He manages the huge
demands of the role with skill and charisma. He quietens a drunken brawl
through the power of song with such force that you feel that you’re one of
those he’s ordering to be silent. At the other extreme, he sings the
tenderest words of love and the most tortuous depths of despair, to the
point where you feel your own emotions fracturing.
The three main
roles are among the most demanding in Verdi's oeuvre, and Kaufmann's Otello
is ably supported by Marco Vratogna's malicious Iago, and Maria Agresta's
doomed Desdemona. Vratogna's portrayal of Iago’s malevolent scheming is
genuinely unsettling; while the character repels you, he also holds your
fascination.
Argesta's Desdemona, meanwhile, melts your heart. She
imbues the torture and desperation of trying to prove herself guiltless with
tragic compassion. In the aria Ave Maria, performed when she can see that
she’s losing Otello, she pulls you into her anguish, so that you feel the
loss too. This core trio were brilliantly supported by the young Canadian
Frédéric Antoun singing the role of Cassio, and New Zealander Thomas Atkins
in the role of Roderigo.
Director Keith Warner creates an intimacy in
the scenes with Otello and Desdemona, in stark contrast to the wide open
splendour of the larger scenes, while Boris Kudlička's set designs impart a
sense of 'seeing and not seeing', through a sliding array of Arabic inspired
fretwork panels. The giant lion of St Mark, the symbol of Venice so
triumphant earlier in the opera, lies smashed and broken by the end.
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