"Credo in un Dio crudel" (1887)
The villain's creed — a cruel God made him in his own image — invented by Boito with no source in Shakespeare
Recording: Unknown · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Opera · Italian opera
Otello
5 February 1887, Teatro alla Scala, Milan
Giuseppe Verdi · libretto by Arrigo Boito, after Shakespeare
Verdi's penultimate opera, written after sixteen years without one, compresses Shakespeare's tragedy into four taut acts: no overture, just a storm, a landing and a shout of triumph, then a slow poisoning of a mind by the ensign passed over for promotion.
How to spot them
- ▸Cyprus, late 16th century: a Venetian governor, his new wife, a handkerchief, and an ensign with a grudge
- ▸A heroic tenor of enormous stamina, a smooth baritone villain, a lyric soprano wife
- ▸The famous moment: the curtain rises with no overture on a storm, and the hero lands crying four notes of triumph
- ▸Quiz clues: Boito, La Scala 1887, a drinking song that becomes a brawl, a willow, and a villain who believes in a cruel God
Arias & moments — listen
"Era la notte" — the Dream (1887)
Iago invents a sleeping Cassio murmuring Desdemona's name, and a suspicion becomes a certainty
Recording: Unknown · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Willow Song, "Piangea cantando nell'erma landa" (1887)
Desdemona's Act IV ballad about a girl called Barbara, broken by a shivering farewell to Emilia
Recording: Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), Nellie Melba (1861-1931). · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
"Ave Maria, piena di grazia" (1887)
The soprano's murmured prayer on a monotone before she is smothered
Recording: Unknown · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
"Sì, pel ciel marmoreo giuro!" (1887)
The oath duet that ends Act II, tenor and baritone swearing vengeance in unison
Recording: Otello: Enrico Caruso (1873–1921) Iago: Titta Ruffo (1877–1953) Composer: Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
"Niun mi tema" — the death scene (1887)
Recorded here by Francesco Tamagno, the tenor who created the role in 1887
Recording: Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) Francesco Tamagno (1850–1905) · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Quick-fire facts
- •The premiere was at La Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887, conducted by Franco Faccio.
- •Arrigo Boito, himself a composer (Mefistofele), wrote the libretto and later that of Falstaff.
- •Verdi had written no new opera since Aida in 1871; Boito and the publisher Giulio Ricordi coaxed him out of retirement.
- •There is no overture or prelude: the curtain goes up on a storm and Otello's entrance cry "Esultate!".
- •The creators were Francesco Tamagno as Otello, Victor Maurel as Iago and Romilda Pantaleoni as Desdemona.
- •Iago's "Credo" has no equivalent in Shakespeare — it is Boito's own addition.
- •Boito drops Shakespeare's Venice act entirely; the opera begins in Cyprus.
- •Otello dies with "Un bacio... un bacio ancora", to the kiss theme first heard in the Act I love duet.
- •Rossini had set the same play in 1816, with a famously happy-ending alternative for Rome.
Drill it — 9 cards
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Sources
- Grove Music Online (Oxford University Press) — Otello
- Julian Budden — The Operas of Verdi
- Mary Jane Phillips-Matz — Verdi: A Biography