Artistic director Kenneth Zammit Tabona has unofficially dubbed 2020 as the year of ‘Amore e gelosia’, as it was his idea to stage three versions of Othello in one calendar year.
March will see Rossini’s Otello staged at Teatru Manoel, followed by Verdi’s version staged at Gozo’s Gaulitana Music Festival. In October 2020, Teatru Manoel will be producing Shakespeare’s Othello, the play that has been the catalyst for the two aforementioned operas.
When asked about the relevance of Othello today, Zammit Tabona said: “Love and jealousy are emotions that although seemingly diametrically opposed sadly often are inextricably intertwined. This is Othello in a nutshell: the Moor of Venice was madly in love with the aristocratic Desdemona, only to be led on into a frenzy of jealousy by the conniving Iago into murdering her when she was innocent. It tragically happens today when femicide as it is called still blots our reputation as a civilised country turning men into beasts.”
For the production of Rossini’s version, which will premiere on March 1, Zammit Tabona chose Marco Mencoboni to conduct and Vivien Hewitt to stage the opera. Otello might be a lesser-known work of Rossini, but it is a milestone in the development of opera as musical drama. The work is based on a French adaptation of the story Othello, ou le More de Venise by Jean-François Ducis, and premiered at Teatro del Fondo in Naples December, 1816.
This exciting new production will transport viewers back to the sumptuous world of the Venetian Renaissance. Main place of action is the iconic Ca’ d’Oro. The costumes are based on the woodblocks by Titian’s nephew Cesare Vecellio. Set and costumes are all created in-house by the fabulous teams of Dorothy Ebejer and Ray Farrugia.
Vivien Hewitt is delighted to be back at the Manoel Theatre after a break of 26 years to stage this milestone in operatic history. When asked about the strength of the work she replied: “It is a marvellous opera rich in melodic inspiration but also dramaturgically very advanced for the period and a delight to stage. Unlike the Shakespeare play, Rossini’s Otello is entirely set in Venice and at the centre of the story are a letter and a lock of hair rather than a handkerchief.
“Before the start of the opera Desdemona has been seen by her father, Elmiro, writing a love letter. To allay his suspicions she tells him the letter is for her suitor Rodrigo who is also the Doge’s son. Elmiro entrusts the letter to Iago, expecting him to consign it to Rodrigo. The letter also contains a lock of hair and Desdemona fears that these love tokens have fallen into the wrong hands. I will be underlining visually how these objects, as they pass from hand to hand, give rise to the series of tragic misunderstandings. I will show how Otello’s jealousy is exacerbated by the visual contexts Iago masterminds to make Desdemona seem unfaithful.”
A young and vibrant cast will bring this Otello to life, with Cliff Zammit Stevens as Otello, Roberto Jachini Virgili as Iago, Valentina Mastrangelo as Desdemona, Nico Darmanin as Rodrigo, Francesca Sartorato as Emilia, Albert Buttigieg as Elmiro, Alan Sciberras as Lucio/Gondolier and Stanley Joe Portelli as Doge, together with KorMalta and the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra.
Otello by Gioachino Rossini is at Teatru Manoel on March 1, 3, 5 and 7. More information and tickets on teatrumanoel.com.mt.