Otello (Rossini)

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Work data
Title: Othello or The Moor of Venice
Original title: Otello ossia Il moro di Venezia
Title page of the libretto, Naples 1816

Title page of the libretto, Naples 1816

Shape: Dramma per musica in three acts
Original language: Italian
Music: Gioachino Rossini
Libretto : Francesco Maria Berio Marchese di Salsa
Literary source: Jean-François Ducis , Giovanni Carlo Baron Cosenza, William Shakespeare : Othello
Premiere: December 4, 1816
Place of premiere: Teatro del Fondo , Naples
Playing time: approx. 2 ½ hours
Place and time of the action: Venice
people
  • Otello, African general in the service of Venice ( tenor )
  • Desdemona, daughter of Elmiro and secret wife Otello ( soprano )
  • Elmiro, father of Desdemonas ( bass )
  • Rodrigo, despised lover of Desdemonas, son of the Doge (tenor)
  • Iago, secret enemy of Otello, friends with Rodrigo for tactical reasons (tenor)
  • Emilia, confidante of Desdemonas (soprano)
  • Lucio, friend of Otellos (tenor)
  • Doge (tenor)
  • Gondolier (tenor)
  • Senators, people, friends and followers ( choir )

Otello ossia Il moro di Venezia is a dramma per musica in three acts by Gioachino Rossini . The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Berio after Othello, ou Le more de Venise by Jean-François Ducis (1792) and Giovanni Carlo Baron Cosenza's Otello from 1813 and Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Othello, the Moore of Venice from 1603. December 1816 at the Teatro del Fondo in Naples .

action

short version

First act. The general Otello returns victorious from Cyprus to Venice. He is secretly married to Desdemona, Elmiro's daughter, and hopes that his success will sanction this connection. Rodrigo, the Doge's son, wants to marry Desdemona in turn and begins an intrigue against Otello with Iago, who has come into possession of a compromising letter. Desdemona and her confidante Emilia are waiting for Otello. She worries about his affection because she has not received any more letters from him after her father intercepted one of her letters. Elmiro has meanwhile decided to marry Desdemona to Rodrigo. The wedding celebrations begin, but Desdemona hesitates to agree. Otello interrupts the party and announces that he loves Desdemona. The angry Elmiro leads his daughter away and there is a first confrontation between Otello and Rodrigo.

Act two. Rodrigo meets with Desdemona. She admits that she is already married to Otello and asks him to appease her father. Rodrigo threatens to punish Otello. Desdemona confesses to Emilia that she has revealed her secret. Now all that's left is to flee. Emilia suspects doom and decides to ask Desdemona's friends for help. Otello confides in Iago and asks him to prove Desdemona's infidelity. Iago gives him the letter that Elmiro has intercepted. Otello believes this is addressed to Rodrigo and swears vengeance. Rodrigo wants to make up with Otello, but Otello rejects him. Desdemona joins them, and now they accuse both Otello and Rodrigo of infidelity. Desdemona is desperate because she cannot explain Otello's behavior to herself. When the two men leave to duel, she passes out. Emilia finds her and warns her in vain of the impending catastrophe. Friends tell Desdemona that Otello survived the duel with Rodrigo. Elmiro joins them. He sees his honor hurt and casts Desdemona out.

Third act. Desdemona is alone with Emilia in her bedroom. While Emilia tries to comfort Desdemona, the song of a gondolier can be heard outside, reminding Desdemona of her misfortune. She sings the plaintive willow song on the harp . After Desdemona has sent Emilia away and went to sleep, Otello enters the room through a secret door to murder Desdemona. He becomes unsure at the sight of the sleeping people, but when Desdemona speaks of her lover in her sleep, he believes that Rodrigo was meant. Desdemona wakes up. She realizes Jago's intrigue, but Otello misinterprets her reaction again and stabs her. Lucio, a follower of Otello, tells him that Rodrigo has meanwhile killed Iago and that he confessed to his intrigue before his death. The Doge, Elmiro and Rodrigo join them. Rodrigo withdraws his claims on Desdemona, and Elmiro now wants to shake his daughter's hand with Otello. Then Otello finally realizes his mistake, and he kills himself.

first act

Senate Hall; In the background, between the columns, you can see the Lido , on which the population watches the landing of Otello; Ships some distance away

Scene 1. While the Doge, Elmiro and the senators wait in the hall for the newcomers, the people praise the victorious general Otello (introduction: “Viva Otello, viva il prode”). Otello steps in to the sounds of a military march, accompanied by Iago, Rodrigo and Lucio. He reports on the victory over Cyprus and hands the doge the arms and flags of the defeated. When the Doge asks him for his reward, Otello replies that he wants nothing more than to be recognized like a local in Venice. Although he comes from Africa, he loves Venice more than his homeland. The doge promises him this. He should also receive the laurel wreath he deserves. Otello, who is already secretly married to Elmiro's daughter Desdemona, hopes to get closer to sanctioning his love through his success (Cavatine: "Ah! Sì, per voi già sento"). Rodrigo, the Doge's son, secretly sees his own goals at risk. He can hardly hold back his feelings, and Jago has to stop him from attacking Otello openly. Otello leaves with the senators and the people. Elmiro, Iago and Rodrigo stay behind.

Scene 2. Rodrigo asks Elmiro about Desdemona's feelings towards him. Elmiro tells him that she is worried but does not want to tell him the reason. He leaves to take part in the pageant.

Scene 3. Rodrigo tells Iago that he is concerned that Elmiro might decide to marry Desdemona to Otello. Iago promises him his help. He himself still has an old account with Otello and is envious of his advancement. He shows Rodrigo a compromising letter with which he wants to destroy Otello. Together they will achieve their goals (duet: “No, non temer, serena”).

Room in the palace of Elmiros

Scene 4. Desdemona is talking to her confidante Emilia. She worries about Otello's affection. Recently her father had intercepted one of her letters to Otello with a lock of hair in it. She had claimed at the time that the letter was addressed to Rodrigo. She has not heard from Otello since then. Now she fears that he might think she is unfaithful. Emilia assures her that her concern is unfounded (Duettino: “Vorrei, che il tuo pensiero” - “Quanto son fieri i palpiti”). Both go.

Scene 5. Iago feels that he has been treated unfairly by the Doge, who prefers a mean African to him. He swears revenge. Rodrigo comes to speak to Elmiro.

Scene 6. Elmiro appears and promises Rodrigo his daughter's hand. He also despises Otello and wants Rodrigo's support against him. Iago should prepare the wedding as soon as possible. Rodrigo and Iago go.

Scene 7. Elmiro looks forward to his revenge on Otello.

Scene 8. Elmiro tells his daughter that he wants to make her very happy and that she will follow his steps magnificently to the cheering of the people. He goes.

Scene 9. Desdemona is still puzzled by her father's words.

Scene 10. Desdemona asks Emilia for her opinion. She suspects that Elmiro may have reconciled with Otello.

Magnificently decorated public hall

Scene 11. At the beginning of the wedding celebrations, bridesmaids, friends and confidants of Elmiro sing about love (chorus: “Santo imen! Te guida amore”).

Scene 12. Elmiro, Desdemona, Emilia, and Rodrigo enter with their entourage. Only now does Elmiro tell her the purpose of the event: she should swear eternal loyalty to Rodrigo. Elmiro still believes he is acting as a loving father (Finale I: “Nel cuor d'un padre amante”). But Desdemona hesitates to answer. Rodrigo assures her of his loyalty and begs her to choose him. Desdemona bursts into tears (trio: "Ti parli l'amore").

Scene 13. Otello appears in the background with some of his companions. Horrified to see Desdemona at the side of his rival, he explains that love gives him a right to her heart and that Desdemona has already sworn allegiance to him (Otello: "L'ingrata, ahimè che miro"). Everyone is horrified (chorus: “Incerta l'anima”). The angry Elmiro leads his daughter away. Otello and Rodrigo explain their hatred and contempt to each other.

Second act

Elmiros room

Scene 1. Rodrigo meets with Desdemona. She admits that she is already married to Otello and asks him to appease her father. Rodrigo threatens to punish Otello (aria: “Che ascolto? Ahimè, che dici?” - “Ah, come mai non senti”). He goes.

Scene 2. Desdemona is desperate.

Scene 3. Desdemona confesses to Emilia that she has revealed her secret. She fears for Otello's life and sees the only way out in flight. She makes her way to him.

Scene 4. Emilia suspects doom and decides to ask Desdemona's friends for help.

Garden in the Otellos house

Scene 5. Otello doubts Desdemona's loyalty.

Scene 6. Iago joins them. He advises Otello not to complain about fate, although he has every reason to. His words reinforce Otello's doubts. He demands evidence of Desdemona's infidelity. Iago hands him Desdemona's letter, which Elmiro has intercepted. Otello reads it believing that it is addressed to Rodrigo. Jago gleefully watches his growing despair (duet: "Non m'inganno; al mio rivale" - "L'ira d'avverso fato"). Otello gains final certainty when Iago gives him the lock of Desdemonas enclosed with the letter. He swears revenge and then wants to die himself. Iago leaves triumphantly.

Scene 7. Otello is appalled by Desdemona's betrayal.

Scene 8. Rodrigo tries to make up with Otello, but Otello rejects him. They decide to settle their differences with arms (beginning of the trio as a duet: “Ah vieni, nel tuo sangue”).

Scene 9. Desdemona joins in, and now they accuse both Otello and Rodrigo of being unfaithful (continuation of the trio). Desdemona is desperate because she cannot explain Otello's behavior to herself. When the two men leave to duel, she passes out.

Scene 10. Emilia finds her and warns her in vain of the impending catastrophe. Desdemona is completely confused. She just wants to die, but prays to save Otello (aria: "Che smania. Ohimè! Che affanno?")

Scene 11. Friends tell Desdemona that Otello survived the duel with Rodrigo (Finale II: “Qual nuova a me recate?”). Elmiro joins them. He sees his honor hurt and casts Desdemona out. While the women complain of its severity, the confidants consider it justified.

Third act

bedroom

Scene 1. Desdemona is alone in her bedroom with Emilia. While Emilia tries to comfort her, the song of a gondolier (“Nessun maggior dolore”) sounds outside, reminding Desdemona of her misfortune again. She sings the plaintive willow song on the harp ("Assisa a 'piè d'un salice"). When some window panes break in a gust of wind, she sees this as a bad omen. Emilia calms her down. Desdemona gives her one last kiss and sends her away.

Scene 2. Filled with her pain, Desdemona prays that Otello will come to her consolation or at least cry for her after her death ( Preghiera: “Deh calma, o ciel, nel sonno”).

Scene 3. Otello enters the room through a secret door with a torch and a dagger in his hands (Otello's failure: “Eccomi giunto inosservato”). After the duel Iago had helped him escape and showed him the way. He approaches the sleeping Desdemona and imagines that she is dreaming of his rival. He becomes unsure at the sight of her face, but when Desdemona speaks of her lover in his sleep, he believes that Rodrigo was meant. A flash briefly illuminates their features. Desdemona wakes up at the next clap of thunder. Otello accuses her of treason. He does not believe her declarations of innocence and love (duet: "Non arrestare il colpo"). He informs her that Iago has now killed her lover. At this name Desdemona realizes Jago's intrigue, but Otello again misinterprets her reaction. The thunderstorm is increasing. Otello throws Desdemona on the bed and stabs her. Startled, he backs away and draws the bed curtains. Shortly afterwards his friend Lucio knocks on the door. Otello pushes back his remorse and opens (Finale III: “Che sento… Chi batte?”).

Scene 4. Lucio tells Otello that Rodrigo has meanwhile killed Iago and that he confessed to his intrigue before his death.

Scene 5. The Doge, Elmiro and Rodrigo join them. Rodrigo withdraws his claims on Desdemona and Elmiro now wants to give Otello his daughter's hand. Then Otello finally realizes his mistake. He opens the bed curtain to reveal his deed to the others and kills himself.

layout

Instrumentation

The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:

Music numbers

The opera contains the following musical numbers:

  • overture

first act

  • No. 1. Introduction (choir): "Viva Otello, viva il prode" (scene 1)
  • No. 2. Cavatine (Otello): “Ah! sì, per voi già sento "(scene 1)
  • No. 3. Duet (Jago, Otello): "No, non temer, serena" (scene 3)
  • No. 4th scene: "Inutile è quel pianto" (scene 4)
    • Duettino (Emilia, Desdemona): "Vorrei, che il tuo pensiero" - "Quanto son fieri i palpiti" (scene 4)
  • No. 5. Choir: “Santo imen! te guida amore "(scene 11)
    • Finale I: "Nel cuor d'un padre amante" (scene 12)
    • Trio (Rodrigo, Desdemona, Elmiro): "Ti parli l'amore" (scene 12)
    • Enter Otello: "L'ingrata, ahimè che miro" (scene 13)
    • Choir: "Incerta l'anima" (scene 13)

Second act

  • No. 6. Aria (Rodrigo): “Che ascolto? ahimè, che dici? "-" Ah, come mai non senti "(scene 1)
  • No. 7th scene (Otello): "Che feci?… Ove mi trasse" (scene 5)
    • Duet (Iago, Otello): “Non m'inganno; al mio rivale "-" L'ira d'avverso fato "(scene 6)
  • No. 8. Trio (Rodrigo, Otello, Desdemona): "Ah vieni, nel tuo sangue" (scene 8)
  • No. 9. Aria (Desdemona): “Che smania. Ohimè! che affanno? "(Scene 10)
    • Finale II: "Qual nuova a me recate?" (Scene 11)

Third act

  • No. 10a. Scene (Emilia): “Ah! / Dagli affanni oppressa "(scene 1)
    • Canzone del Gondoliere - song of the gondolier: "Nessun maggior dolore" (scene 1)
  • No. 10b. Canzone del salice - Willow song (Desdemona): "Assisa a 'piè d'un salice" (scene 1)
    • Preghiera - prayer (Desdemona): "Deh calma, o ciel, nel sonno" (scene 2)
  • No. 10c. Sortita Otello - Otello's failure: "Eccomi giunto inosservato" (scene 3)
  • No. 10d. Duet (Desdemona, Otello): "Non arrestare il colpo" (scene 3)
  • No. 10e. Finale III: "Che sento ... Chi batte?" (Scene 3)

Acquisitions

  • In the overture, Rossini borrowed material from those of Il turco in Italia and Sigismondo .
  • The final passage of the duettino Emilia / Desdemona (“Quanto son fieri i palpiti”, first act, scene 4) comes from Aureliano in Palmira .
  • The trio “Ti parli l'amore” in the first finale uses music from L'equivoco stravagante .
  • The main melody at the end of the duet Otello / Rodrigo (“L'ira d'avverso fato”, second act, scene 6) is based on the agitato of the aria “Ah qual voce” (second act, scene 9) from Torvaldo e Dorliska .
  • In the final scene Rossini used the last bars of the introduction to the cavatina “Fra un istante a te vicino” (first act, scene 7) from Torvaldo e Dorliska.

libretto

Berio's libretto differs significantly from Shakespeare's Othello . The plot was changed, the location moved from Cyprus to Venice and "Shakespeare's characters keep little more than their names". This procedure was not uncommon at the time, but it led to some harsh criticism from contemporaries, for example from Lord Byron , who wrote about a performance from 1818: “You defaced Othello into an opera (Otello by Rossini) ... Good music, but ominous - but as far as the text is concerned! - all real scenes with Iago deleted - and instead the greatest nonsense: the handkerchief has been transformed into a love letter ... stage design, costumes and music very well ... " Stendhal , who had heard the opera in 1817, wrote:" The bad librettist must be Kind of a genius in reducing the most overwhelming tragedy ever seen on stage to such a bland piece of absurdity. On the other hand, Rossini helped him as much as he could. ”The Rossini biographer Richard Osborne also criticized the libretto:“ The way he handled the main theme of the piece is silly. The plot is reduced to the model of a sensitive father, a daughter dying of love, a heroic lover and a wicked rival ”. There is neither an aria of Desdemona nor a love duet. The third act, on the other hand, is "something like the triumphant climax". Giacomo Meyerbeer wrote from Venice on September 17th, 1818: “The old theater routinists already pronounced the word Fiasco, especially since it was known that the third act contained only three pieces, two of which (a Romance and a Preghiera) were also very small . And yet these two little pieces [...] not only saved the opera, they also brought it to such a foothold that has not been remembered for 20 years ”. According to Richard Osborne, the main focus of the opera is not the title character Otello, but Desdemona, "one of the most convincing heroines of Ottocento".

music

What is unusual - especially for today's listening habits - is that Rossini wrote all of the leading male roles (Otello, Rodrigo and Iago) for tenor , corresponding to the singers available in Naples. Later, the role of Otello was also taken over by female singers. In 1831, for example, she sang García's daughter Maria Malibran alongside Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient as Desdemona.

The following passages are particularly emphasized in the literature:

  • The second part of the Duettino Emilia / Desdemona "Quanto son fieri i palpiti" (first act, scene 4) gives dance "ecstatic expression to the thought of the pain of love".
  • With Elmiro's invitation to his daughter to marry Rodrigo and the appearance of Otello, the first finale contains two dramatic twists, each followed by an ensemble scene: the trio "Ti parli l'amore" and the choir "Incerta l'anima" .
  • Richard Osborne describes Rodrigo's aria "Ah, come mai non senti" (second act, scene 1) as "a brilliant showpiece in an unusually high position and a devilishly difficult, very high cabaletta".
  • The duet Jago / Otello “Non m'inganno; al mio rivale ”(second act, scene 6) is characterized by a strong drama.
  • The duet Otello / Rodrigo “Ah vieni, nel tuo sangue” (second act, scene 8) is a “singer's battle” of the tenors, “a precious piece in C major with dry, highly declamatory lines, falling basses and high C's by both singers ". With the appearance of Desdemona, it is expanded into an even more lively trio.
  • The gondolier's song “Nessun maggior dolore” (third act, scene 1) uses a text from lines 121–123 of the fifth song of Dante's Inferno at Rossini's suggestion . The melody is also from Rossini himself.
  • The harp, strings and winds accompanied willow song of Desdemona "Assisa a 'piè d'un Salice" (the third act, scene 1) is "touching and unforgettable in every bar."
  • Desdemona's prayer “Deh calma, o ciel, nel sonno” (third act, scene 2) is accompanied by solo winds. Verdi's Otello also has a prayer at this point, but it is orchestrated with muted strings.

Work history

Rossini wrote his Otello immediately after the operas Il barbiere di Siviglia (premiered February 20, 1816 ) and La gazzetta (September 26, 1816) and shortly before La Cenerentola (January 25, 1817). The opera was originally intended for the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. However, since it burned down on the night of February 13-14, 1816, the premiere of Otello was moved to the Teatro del Fondo . The premiere, which was contractually scheduled for October 10, had to be postponed by two months because Rossini did not deliver the score on time.

Andrea Nozzari (Otello), Isabella Colbran (Desdemona), Michele Benedetti (Elmiro), Giovanni David (Rodrigo), Giuseppe Ciccimarra (Jago), Maria Manzi (Emilia), Nicola sang at the premiere on December 4, 1816 in the Teatro del Fondo Mollo (Lucio), Gaetano Chizzola (Doge) and Nicola Mollo (Gondoliero). The set was designed by Francesco Tortoli. From January 18, 1817, the opera was played in the rebuilt Teatro San Carlo . At the latest there sang Manuel García , who a few years later would have great success in Paris with the title role, the Iago.

  • Singer from the world premiere in 1816

  • Andrea Nozzari (Otello)

  • Isabella Colbran (Desdemona)

  • Giovanni David (Rodrigo)

Although some Neapolitans were bothered by the tragic end, the work had been a great success at least since the performances at the Teatro San Carlo and quickly spread, first to Italian opera houses, and then to the rest of Europe. It was performed in Italian in Munich on September 13, 1818, in German in the Theater an der Wien and in the competing Kärntnertortheater in 1819 , in Frankfurt am Main on April 9, 1820 (with a soprano in the role of Otello) and in Italian in 1823 in the Kärntnertortheater (with Domenico Donzelli as Otello, Giovanni David as Rodrigo and Johann Nestroy as Doge). On June 5, 1821, the premiere was in the Paris Théâtre-Italy with Manuel García as Otello and Giuditta Pasta as Desdemona, whose appearance was enthusiastically celebrated.

  • Singer of the Paris performance of 1821

  • Manuel García (Otello)

  • Giuditta Pasta (Desdemona)

Very soon, the opera was changed to a greater or lesser extent - again quite typical of the time - numbers were borrowed from other Rossini operas (for example from Armida and La donna del lago ) and transpositions were made. “It was only one step from the successive adaptation of the parts to the singing style of the time to the arrangements that appeared in print. […] In the second half of the 19th century, especially when veristic singing emerged, it can be said without exaggeration that there was not much left of Rossini's work. ”Up until the 1880s, Rossini's Otello was in played continuously all over Europe, but after the publication of Verdi's Otello (1887) the work was gradually forgotten.

From 1960 there were isolated performances again, but it was not until the 1980s that suitable singers were available again for this opera in the wake of the Rossini renaissance, for example at the 1988 Rossini Opera Festival Pesaro with Chris Merritt as Otello, Rockwell Blake as Rodrigo and June Anderson as Desdemona. The opera was given repeatedly in Pesaro. Performances beyond the festival have taken place at the Royal Opera House in London, at the Zurich Opera House , at the Vlaamse Opera (Antwerp, Ghent) and at the Salzburg Whitsun Festival . There was a new production at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan in 2015, at the Theater an der Wien in February 2016 (conductor: Antonello Manacorda , director: Damiano Michieletto ).

Recordings

Web links

Commons : Otello  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Otello, ossia il moro di Venezia. Notes on the Critical Edition by Michael Collins , accessed January 19, 2016.
  2. ↑ Otello. Music numbers on librettidopera.it , accessed January 19, 2016; compared with the libretto and supplemented by the passages particularly mentioned in the literature.
  3. ^ A b c d e Charles Osborne : The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini. Amadeus Press, Portland OR 1994, ISBN 0-931340-71-3 .
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g Herbert Weinstock : Rossini - A biography. Translated by Kurt Michaelis. Kunzelmann, Adliswil 1981 (1968), ISBN 3-85662-009-0 .
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Richard Osborne: Rossini - life and work. Translated from the English by Grete Wehmeyer. List Verlag, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-471-78305-9 .
  6. ↑ quoted from Philip Gosset: Rossini's Otello. In: Rossini Otello, supplement to the CD recording from 1978, p. 18.
  7. ↑ a b c d e Sabine Henze-Döhring : Otello. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater . Vol. 5. Works. Piccinni - Spontini. Piper, Munich and Zurich 1994, ISBN 3-492-02415-7 .
  8. ^ Richard Osborne:  Otello (i). In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  9. ^ Record of the performance of December 4, 1816 in the Teatro del Fondo in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  10. ^ Michael Jahn: Di tanti palpiti… Italians in Vienna (= writings on Viennese opera history. 3). Der Apfel, Vienna 2006, ISBN 3-85450-196-X p. 82 ff.
  11. ↑ James Radomski: Manuel García (1775-1832): Chronicle of the Life of a Bel Canto Tenor at the Dawn of Romanticism. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2000, pp. 149 f. ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  12. ^ Otello in the repertoire of the Theater an der Wien , accessed on February 29, 2016.
  13. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Gioacchino Rossini. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all complete opera recordings (= digital library . ZENO020). 2nd, expanded and revised edition. Directmedia, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-86640-720-6 (CD-ROM).
  14. ^ Inclusion by Carlo Franci (1965) in the discography of Otello at Operadis.
  15. ↑ Otello. In: Harenberg opera guide. 4th edition. Meyers Lexikonverlag, 2003, ISBN 3-411-76107-5 , pp. 772-774.
  16. ^ Admission by Donato Renzetti (1992) in the discography for Otello at Operadis.
  17. ^ Admission by Renato Palumbo (2007) in the discography of Otello at Operadis.
  18. ↑ Inclusion of Karel Mitas (2008) in the discography of Otello at Operadis.