Opéra Royal de Wallonie presents as its final opera of the season one of the masterpieces of the opera repertoire: Otello by Giuseppe Verdi. Director Alex Aguilera makes it clear from the opening image: Otello is an oppressive, somber work. We experience authentically moving Verdi, gripping theater right to the final note.
Behind a dark gray mesh curtain – which also returns as a division between acts – a dark palace with many stairs and small intermediate balconies forms the set. One narrow window features Moorish decoration. The lighting is extremely sparse, the clothing almost exclusively black. An ideal context to emphasize the tragic intrigue.
Visually, the staging offers only two points of light: the festive greeting of Desdemona in the first act by the choir and children's choir, beautifully dressed in bright white, and Desdemona's white bridal gown in the fourth act, which simultaneously – as an extreme contrast – becomes her funeral dress.
Efficient direction heading straight toward catastrophe
After the exuberant joyful chorus with which Otello is festively welcomed as victor over the Saracens, the director immediately focuses on the discontented Jago, who feels passed over for a higher position and step by step works out his revenge plan to strike Otello in his love for Desdemona. In the moving scene between Cassio and Montano, Jago already manifests his malevolent nature. The subsequent love duet between Otello and Desdemona concludes the first act and also provides roughly the only lyrical moment of rest in the opera. From then on, the opera rushes headlong toward catastrophe, as we experience it in this production. Each step in the intrigue receives an efficient and clear portrayal in the staging; there is no escape possible. Thus, the dropping and picking up of the "handkerchief" – as a very important aspect of Jago's manipulation – offers an inescapable image. It is a shame that Jago's strikingly characteristic portrayal, his Credo in un dio crudel, is somewhat marred by a somewhat foolish tossing of him back and forth by the extras. We would like to call it a detail, but director Alex Aguilera gives it meaning: the figures embody the poison present in Jago. In the confrontation between Otello and Desdemona over Cassio, in which he even insults her as a courtesan, the director positions the characters in such opposition that tension escalates. Jago's mechanism drives Otello to rage in the passages 'Ora e per sempre addio', in which he distrusts his beloved, and 'Si per ciel', in which he swears to take revenge. Anxious forebodings permeate Desdemona's melancholic Salce, salce in the fourth act and the subsequent Ave Maria. Yet it is a moment of rest before the final tragic denouement.
Musically convincing
This well-conceived and efficient direction, combined with a moving musical performance, makes the result all the more convincing. It was Francesco Lanzilotta's first time conducting at the Opéra de Wallonie and hopefully he will return. He clearly has Italian repertoire in his grasp. The orchestra follows him closely, both in the rousing passages and in the menace and melancholy. Perhaps the most striking witness to this is the third act where Otello insults Desdemona and then completely unravels his grief in the beautiful aria Dio mi potevi scagliar, a lyrical cantabile melody, until fury takes hold again. Throughout the entire score, Lanzilotta draws that kind of color richness perfectly from the orchestra. The choir also deserves all praise. Luciano Ganci convinces as Otello with very expressive singing and acting style. His voice masterfully commands the dramatic content without exaggeration. The direction emphasizes above all the personal tragedy in his love for Desdemona, rather than his "outcast" status due to his skin color. The same quality applies to his malevolent counterpart Jago, baritone Roman Burdenko. From his first appearance he captivates as the villain and his vocal interpretation makes the whole thing supremely gripping. Maria Teresa Leva sings a moving Desdemona, who evolves from confidently loving and self-assured to fearful and naively devout. A clear and nuanced soprano. ORW has also done excellent casting for the other roles, from which we mention Luca dall'Amico as Ludovico and Julie Bailly as Emilia. Finally, let us mention once again the very carefully crafted and beautiful costumes, credit to designer Françoise Raybaud and the costume workshop of ORW.