Sweden Verdi, Otello: Gothenburg Opera Soloists, Chorus, Extra Chorus, Children’s Chorus and Orchestra / Vincenzo Milletarì (conductor). Gothenburg Opera main stage, 23.11.2024. (NS)
Production:
Director and Costume design – Rafael R. Villalobos
Set design – Emanuele Sinisi
Lighting design – Felipe Ramos
Choreographer – Jose Ruiz
Costume design assistant – Arancha Rodrigálvarez
Cast:
Otello – Michael Weinius
Desdemona – Julia Sporsén
Iago – Jens Søndergaard
Emilia/Barbara – Ann-Kristin Jones
Cassio – Adam Frandsen
Roderigo – Tobias Westman
Lodovico – Mats Almgren
Montano – Orhan Yildiz
A herald – Richard Laby
Otello as a child – Oskar Bryllert
Desdemona as a child – Elsie Lyttkens
Verdi’s Otello has only been produced in Gothenburg twice before: in 1929 (with a young Kirsten Flagstad as Desdemona) and in 1969. After 55 years it was high time for a return. Fortunately, the Gothenburg Opera has pulled out all the stops and given us a memorable musical achievement.
Director Rafael R. Villalobos sees both Otello and Desdemona as characters bearing traumas from when they were children, and Otello especially as a troubled person even before Iago starts pouring poison in his ears. The directorial concept has the story in modern dress but in an institutional setting to remind us of the social codes and stigmas that restrict the characters (except perhaps the totally evil Iago).
The set and costumes are deliberately pared-back, giving a strong focus on the psychology and relationships of the characters, an area where Villalobos excels. Emanuele Sinisi’s set uses a sloping triangular space which should give good views from all seats, focuses the action but is adaptable with moveable walls. In Act IV the walls are moved outwards but Desdemona’s bed is hauntingly hemmed in by darkness. Indeed, Felipe Ramos’s lighting is superb and inventive throughout, including gripping effects during Iago’s ‘Credo’ and a spine-chilling entry for Otello in the final act.
Fittingly for one of Verdi’s great choral operas, the chorus is expanded and in superb form, particularly in ‘Fuoco di gioia’ and ‘Dove guardi splendono raggi’, where the Gothenburg Opera Children’s Chorus also excelled. Tobias Westman gave a believable performance as Roderigo, whose lust for Desdemona made him putty in Iago’s hands. Mats Almgren was a dignified Lodovico, while Adam Frandsen was delightful in Cassio’s drinking song and when he gossips with Iago.
Ann-Kristin Jones’s warm and expressive mezzo is an excellent fit for the role of Emilia. She impresses in Act IV both in her sorrow and concern at Desdemona’s sadness and morbid comments but also in her fury when she finds Desdemona murdered and exposes her husband’s role in the crime.
Iago is Jens Søndergaard’s first role at the Gothenburg Opera (though he has long experience in Denmark) and it is a revelation. Søndergaard’s baritone is versatile, from cool and cultivated all the way to the darkness of Iago’s ‘Credo’. In that scene he showed an amazing range of expression both vocally and in his acting. His Machiavellian chemistry with Otello is superb, reaching a high point in their duet ‘Sì, per ciel marmoreo giuro’. Above all he makes the other characters’ trust in him believable even while he is scheming against them.
Julia Sporsén is a wonderful Desdemona. Every word she sang was beautiful, but also clearly projected whether in a big ensemble scene or her heart-breaking ‘Ave Maria’ and Willow Song. Sporsén movingly and sympathetically depicts Desdemona as bound to Otello by love born of pity and attempting to heal him, despite his appalling and groundless accusations against her and her public shaming. Her anguish in the end of the third act was utterly convincing, but her warm lyric soprano was also a lovely vocal contrast to Otello’s pain in ‘Già nella note densa’.
Michael Weinius is nowadays best known for his Wagner and Richard Strauss roles but has a voice that is also suited to Verdi. His rounded and well-supported tenor is superb in expressing Otello’s troubled soul and his depiction of his descent into jealousy and shame was searing, while his abuse of the innocent Desdemona was terrifying. The chemistry between the three main characters (both vocally and in acting) was terrific.
Another revelation is the superb conducting of Vincenzo Milletarì, who had great pacing and brought out a fantastic dynamic range from the Gothenburg Opera Orchestra.
Villalobos rightly urges the audience to reflect on the painful relevance of this story in our own society but urges us in vain not to ‘commit the bourgeois sin of being swept away by one of the greatest, most inspired scores in art history’. With musicianship and acting of this quality, it is impossible not to be carried away – and deeply moved.
Niklas Smith
Playing (casting varies) until 12 January. For tickets and more information click here.