Photo: Zurich Opernhaus / Adrian Baer
Oxana Arkaeva
Background The penultimate opera of the
brilliant Giuseppe Verdi could safely be called a long and arduous birth. Boito and Verdi have already
worked before as Verdi's libretto for "Simone Boccanegra" had to be reworked. Countless and fruitless attempts
to convince Verdi to compose a new opera remained unproductive. He stated, again and again, his interest towards
this idea, but could not be persuaded to make a final decision. The
seventy-year-old composer retired to Sant' Agata, founded the Casa di Riposo by
the Musicisti in Milan, and was appointed
Senator in 1874. The fact that the opera world is
in possession of "Otello" is due to the perseverance and
determination of Verdi's publisher Ricordi and Boito himself. In 1879, Verdi
finally bought the libretto, but without making any
obligation. It was only years later in 1884 when Verdi began to work on
“Otello”, which lasted three years until being
completed. On February 5, 1887, at the La Scala in Milan, the premiere
took place under the direction of Franco Faccio and became an indescribable
triumph.
Zürich performance The
performance on March 5th, 2017, in Zurich
was packed with the audience and began with a charming announcement by the
director Andreas Homoki: the singer of Otello is ill but will sing the
performance, though with a cough. A relieved sigh went through the audience, and the performance went on! A giant
kiss projected on the curtain tuned up to a beautiful,
if also sad love story. However, after only a few minutes it became apparent: This is not only about love, but
about war, a modern war, precisely: An East-West conflict. The entire orchestra was immediately
elaborated with chromatic, ruthless sound sequences in Fortissimo, with brutally
rumbling timpani, horns, flutes, as well
as dissonant organ clusters. The anguished interludes of the Fuoco choir was framed with images of napalm bombs, burning
oil fields and flaming helicopters. The victorious hero (Otello) sings his
"Esultate" on the top of a tank, whose barrel dangerously aimed directly at the audience: a frightening picture.
Stage design and Costumes The stage design by Paul Brown resembles a dark military
hangar with burned cars and reminds a desert with tanks and roadblocks. The
stylized palm trees symbolize the occupied country. Spacious, noble, richly
decorated rooms, where Champagne and canapes are
served, present a TV studio, where the rulers enjoy themselves in their
splendor during a real time Live transmission. The costumes, also by Paul
Brown, are held in modern military and politically-minded style, but flatter
the singers hardly, except for the white wedding dress of the Desdemona.
Staging The stage action on this evening could
not be more symbolic or even more up-to-date as on the day of its premiere on
20 November 2011, shortly after Gaddafi was overthrown
in Libya. The Swiss election poster, leaned in its message on SVP fluffy
posters propaganda proclaiming racial segregation, displays a distorted
formula: white plus white = is good,
white minus black = is good, black-white = is bad. Behind the oversized image
of the "Savior" one can see the poster of the minaret ban initiative
and in the chore "Salvo" a model of the mosque is sunk into the ground with only a cross remains
on the stage. British director Graham Vick
based his interpretation on two theses: Otello
should not necessarily be sung by a black-painted white tenor and that
one should have zero compassion for him. Thus, in this staging, all singers are
white, and Otello is portrayed as a cold-blooded killer, whose killing of Desdemona
was nothing more than as a long-term planned honor murder. There are many beautiful and
moving scenes full of symbolic interpretation and deep philosophical meaning.
In the 1st act when Desdemona, standing on the top of the tank and dressed as a
bride, resembles a white dove amidst a war wracks. Or in II act, when Jago
presents his confession of faith, his Credo to the playing in the sand Arab
children: A powerful scene. Here one cannot help but to wondering: who is the true evil here that sows his evil seed in the souls of innocent children?
Another impressive scene shows Otello in Act III when he alone sits at the
table in the middle of the celebrating crowd, covering his face with war paint.
He resembles here Leoncavallos Canio. We
see here a profoundly desperate, broken man, who, despite all his fame, is an alien
to this society, that does nothing but to exploit him.As convincing and as technically
excellently produced this production might be, the intimate, the real drama and
tragic love-story disappears remained uncovered. One feels no empathy for the
figures on stage. Otello is a muscle man, immobile and roaring. Jago, a slimy
imperialist, sometimes dressed in the Hawaiian shirt, or in uniform, slumbering
around and intriguing. Desdemona is an elegant but seemingly naive lady, who
keeps her worries hidden under either a headscarf, hat or veil, and who has no
clue what so ever about intrigues developing around her. Perhaps it was due to the fact, that the main character
was indisposed, or that the cast was the different one, but the singers often
acted statically, almost lifeless, and somehow disorientated.
Ensemble Nevertheless, Benjamin Bernheim as Casio impressed
with a beautiful lyrical tenor voice and energetic acting. Yulia Mennibaeva as Emilia pleased with warm, velvety mezzosoprano. Zeljko
Lucic as Jago sung with beautifully sounding baritone without demonic harshness.
Maria Agresta as Desdemona presented
a warm lyric soprano voice and beautiful sounding pianos. She was the only one
on this evening, who was cautiously and sensitively accompanied by the
orchestra.
Orchestra and Choir Under the baton of Maestro Marco Armiliato,
the Philharmonia Zurich often played loud, cold and with a brusque sound. Few
touching moments such as the Duet in Act I and
La Canzone del Salice in Act IV, could not soften this impression. A
special praise is given to all four
choirs, which were not only perfectly rehearsed (chorus director Jürg Hämmerli), but acted accordingly
to the idea and spirit of the stage director and drama.
Conclusion One in all, this "Otello"
surprisingly does not impress by its musical, but by its scenic interpretation. Still, the opportunity
to experience this performance was worth it, since a thoughtful, by spirit of
the time inspired interpretation of this great work of the genius Verdi is
relatively rare nowadays and deserves its full attention.
