Maryland Lyric Opera’s powerful performance of Verdi’s Otello got through to me. Their beautiful performance of this masterpiece based on Shakespeare’s Othello left me a bit shaken. I rarely have epiphanies, but I think I finally got all of Giuseppe Verdi’s message and how important it is today. Yes, the singers, the chorus, and orchestra were all excellent, but for me, it was Verdi’s understanding of humanity that commanded the auditorium Friday night in the Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda; to their credit, the talented performers for this one were the medium, not the message.
The cast, conductor, orchestra, and chorus in a scene from Maryland Lyric Opera’s production of Otello in the Music Center at Strathmore. Photography by Julian Thomas Photography; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.
Verdi was a huge fan of Shakespeare and reportedly worried he was not equal to the task of transforming one of his plays into an opera. He did pretty well I’d say with Macbeth in 1847. He retired from opera without completing another one after composing Aida in 1871, but he was lured out of retirement to work with young librettist Arrigo Boito to revise Simon Boccanegra and compose an opera from Shakespeare’s Othello. With Boito’s help, he created what is said to be a masterpiece based on a masterpiece: Otello premiered in 1887 when Verdi was 74 years old. In the plot for both the play (Othello) and the opera (Otello), a powerful military leader is brought down by an underling, a clever manipulator named Iago, and pushed to the point of smothering his innocent wife, Desdemona, whom he has been led to believe has been unfaithful to him. Iago, while representing himself as cautious and responsible, was able to create believable lies, tamper with evidence, and distort interpretations of scenarios that convinced Otello that Iago’s suspicions were correct. Starting to sound a little modern day?
Eleni Calenos as Desdemona and Gregory Kunde as Otello with Conductor Phillipe Auguin in the background. Photography by Julian Thomas Photography; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.
The play had to be shortened to make it a reasonable length for an opera. Verdi and Boito omitted act one, where we learned more of the beginning of the lovers relationship; they shifted the emphasis in the opera to more of a focus on Otello and gave us an Iago less a thief by nature and more an evil doer by desire, one who got off on causing harm; his “Credo” in act two is chilling – “I believe in a cruel God”. Among the changes, they added a tender scene between Otello and Desdemona in the first act where they sing of their deep and abiding love for each other. In the opera, Desdemona remains much the same while Otello perhaps becomes more human, and Iago becomes more sinister. Shakespeare told us that jealousy is bad, and that there were clever bad guys to watch out for; Verdi said that it’s not so easy, emphasizing our vulnerability to the destructive effects of lies and the deep pain caused by uncertainty of where the truth lies. I think Verdi wanted to extend Shakespeare to communicate human vulnerability to deception more forcefully; much of the opera is Otello suffering the torment of that uncertainty as well as his jealousy.
Maestro Phillipe Auguin conducting Maryland Lyric Opera’s performance of Otello. Photography by Julian Thomas Photography; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.
MDLO brought in some heavy hitters for this performance. First, the guest conductor for this production was Maestro Philippe Auguin. The Maestro is currently Conductor in Residence for the Greek National Opera Stavros Niarchos Cultural Foundation in Athens. He is well known in DC circles for his seven years as Conductor and Music Director for the Washington National Opera, through the 2017-2018 season; he is currently WNO’s Music Director Emeritus. I especially remember Maestro Auguin for conducting WNO’s fantastic Ring Cycle in 2016. His acumen and sensitivity were again in evidence Friday night. The MDLO orchestra gave a beautiful rendition of Verdi’s Otello under his direction, including the banda of muscians participating at different points from the rafters. This was a very mature and sophisticated Verdi, every aria and scene beautifully shaped and colored by Verdi’s gorgeous music, smooth and unrelenting.
MDLO also attracted a star performer for the lead role of Otello. Tenor Gregory Kunde not only performs in the leading opera houses around the world; he has performed the role of Otello in most of the leading opera houses around the world. An American tenor, he is a leading international opera star. Mr. Kunde has a strong, polished tenor voice. He sang with authority and impressive emotional depth. His acting eloquently conveyed Otello’s dilemmas and range of emotions.
Mr. Kunde’s portrayal of Otello was a truly excellent performance. However, this opera includes a racial issue. Otello as a Moor had dark skin, and this is an important element of the story. When Desdemona sang of Otello’s dark brow, my suspension of disbelief would have been less challenged if the singer’s brow was naturally dark, and it would have given stronger impact to her expressed sympathy for what her husband had endured. This was apparently an attempt by Shakespeare to begin to address the impact of group identity and looking different on how an individual was received by society.
l to r: Lucas Levy as Roderigo, Yi Li as Cassio, and Mark Delavan as Iago. Photography by Julian Thomas Photography; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.
Tenor Kunde was paired with accomplished singers in the roles of Desdemona and Iago, also with strong voices. MDLO’s Desdemona was also an import from Greece, soprano Eleni Calenos who gave a beautiful portrayal of the virtuous, wrongly accused wife of Otello. After what seemed to me a slightly uneven beginning, her love scene with Otello and her scene with Emilia, wife of Iago, when she is disoriented by the fate she sees approaching were on point and very affecting. Iago was portrayed with suitable menace by baritone Mark Delavan, who has become a regular with the company, having just played the role of Falstaff in MDLO’s January production. Mr. Delavan is a polished performer singing and acting. He sings with artistry and nuance, so convincingly in this portrayal that he got some good-natured boos when he appeared for his well-deserved applause at the end.
There was also a strong cast of supporting performers for this production. MDLO regular, tenor Yi Li gave another fine performance, this time as Cassio, Iago’s captain accused of the illicit relationship with Desdemona. Also in the strong supporting cast was mezzo-soprano Patricia Schuman as Emilia, bass-baritone David Pittsinger as Lodovico, baritone José Sacin as Montano, and tenor Lucas Levy as Roderigo.
Some additional kudos should be given for this excellent production. Verdi always gives the chorus a strong role in his operas, and once again, the MDLO Chorus under the direction of Husan Park gave a fine performance. Stage Director David Gately managed, in a concert performance, to add to the believability of the story with limited actor placement, gestures, and props. Lighting by Stuart Duke enhanced the impact of the performance. It takes a team effort to give a compelling performance, and this was an excellent team.
Gregory Kunde as Otello and Eleni Calenos as Desdemona. Photography by Julian Thomas Photography; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.
As I was watching Otello, I thought of the assertion made in The Godfather that one lawyer with a briefcase can steal more money than a hundred men with guns. I then had the following thought: one Iago with an iPhone and social media can steal more piece of mind than a hundred lawyers with briefcases. Up until Friday night, I had always thought of Otello/Othello as a story of personal tragedy brought about by a mean guy; it was about Otello’s jealousy and Iago’s treachery. It’s more than that, and Maryland Lyric Opera’s performance of Otello brought me up to speed. We all share in Otello’s dilemma today. How do we deal with the torment of uncertainty about what is the truth in things that matter? Truly, this is a dilemma confronting us in today’s world – what solution will we choose? Otello chose badly.
Maryland Lyric Opera’s Otello brought beauty to our lives, entertained, and conveyed the important existential ideas in Verdi’s opera. As I keep telling anyone who will listen - MDLO opera on the weekend; it’s what you do.
The Fan Experience: Otello was performed twice by MDLO, on March 3 and 5, in the Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda, MD. The opera was sung in Italian with supertitles in English on raised screens at the back of the stage. Otello concludes MDLO’s “Season of Verdi”, preceded by also excellent productions of Macbeth, Un Ballo in Maschera, and Falstaff,; all three of Verdi’s Shakespearean operas have been performed this season. It’s been a great ride.
MDLO again offered a pre-opera discussion with legendary baritone Sherrill Milnes which was informative and tremendous fun. If MDLO continues this feature, and I hope they will, I might suggest allowing attendees to submit questions ahead of time for possible discussion.
The Strathmore concert hall is a beautiful structure that has outstanding acoustics for concert performances. Strathmore is conveniently located close to the Grosvenor Metro Stop on the Rockville Pike. Use of the parking deck is free on evenings and weekends. I have found parking there to be easy in and easy out. Cafeteria style food is offered again as pandemic restrictions have been lifted, and there is a cash bar on the stage entrance level.
Thanks to Maryland Lyric Opera patrons and contributors, tickets for any seat in the house will remain $10 for students with a student ID.