Artistic Director Kenneth Zammit Tabona has unofficially dubbed 2020 as the year of Amore e Gelosia, as it was his idea to stage the three versions of Otello in one calendar year.
March will see Rossini’s Otello staged at Teatru Manoel, followed by Verdi’s version, staged at Gozo’s very own 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.
To quote Zammit Tabona, when asking about the relevance of Otello today, he explains: “Love and jealousy are emotions that although seemingly diametrically opposed, sadly are often inextricably intertwined. This is Othello in a nutshell; the Moor of Venice who 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 totally innocent. It tragically happens today when femicide, as it is called, still blots our reputation as a civilised country, turning men into beasts.”
Rodrigo (Nico Darmanin).For the production of Rossini’s version, which will premiere today, 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 still 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 in December 1816.
This exciting new production will bring us 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. The set and costumes are all created in-house by the teams of Dorothy Ebejer and Ray Farrugia.
Hewitt said she was delighted to be back at the Manoel Theatre after a break of 26 years to stage this veritable milestone in operatic history. Hewitt’s take on the opera is a traditional one: “Although the Otello libretto draws on early French and Italian adaptations of Shakespeare that alter both the characters and storyline, the powerful themes at the centre of the drama remain exactly the same: mixed race relationships, love between individuals of very different ages and social backgrounds, gender inequality, mobbing and femicide.”
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.
In short, the audience is up for a night full of passion and drama, with virtuoso Rossinian singing in a stunning Venetian atmosphere.
Otello at the Manoel Theatre takes place March 1, 3, 5 and 7 at 7.30pm. Information and tickets at teatrumanoel.com.mt.
Iago (Roberto Jachini Virgili) and Otello (Cliff Zammit Stevens).