Verdi’s Otello at the Barbican last night was a fine concert performance of a top opera.
Take a great drama (Shakespeare’s Othello), edit it to a stunning libretto (Boito) and set it to music by a late-career master (Verdi) and you have a powerful piece of timeless art.
Add one of the great orchestras of the world – London Symphony Orchestra – and a cast of expressive solo voices, and you create unforgettable music, rich, subtle, moving.
Last night’s Otello was a stand-in, Simon O’Neill. He was a revelation, the definitive heldentenor. He was kept on his toes by the dependably resonant bass-baritone Gerald Finley (Jago) and the subtly tragic soprano Anne Schwanewilms (Desdemona). Young tenor Allan Clayton (Cassio), new to me, was impressive - we’ll be hearing a lot more from him.
The LSO and choir – 200 people on the stage – were outstanding.
Verdi’s Otello in London last night: my top gig of 2009.
Gerry Smith
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