Word: otello
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Well, as another aria put it, Addio, sublimi incanti al pensier -- "farewell, sublime incitements to thought." That market is as dead as Otello at the fall of the final curtain. Other areas of the art market that were badly shaken in the crash of the late '80s, from Old Masters to Impressionism and Americana, have shown cautious signs of life; but for most contemporary material, the bottom of the pit has not yet been plumbed...
Only a few weeks after the backstage sturm und drang of the Kathleen Battle affair, the Metropolitan Opera put an enthralling tempest where it belongs -- before an audience. The occasion was a spectacular new production of Giuseppe Verdi's masterpiece Otello, in which astute direction, dazzling conducting and a first-rate cast led by Placido Domingo all combined to create a profound operatic experience...
From the opening storm to the final kiss, this Otello displays all the strengths of modern production technique. The previous version, by Franco Zeffirelli, had sets so detailed that they looked suitable for a CinemaScope film. With their marble pillars and faux Titians, Michael Yeargan's new designs are nearly as lavish, but they are more subdued, allowing director Elijah Moshinsky to personalize the drama. Otello clutches his head in pain after his triumphant conquest of the Turks in Act I, prefiguring his complete moral and physical collapse two acts later; Desdemona tenderly but gingerly strokes her husband's face...
Placido Domingo in a triumphant new Otello...
...Domingo made his debut in Adriana Lecouvreur, Pavarotti in La Boheme.) The Met's jubilee sounds like an inspired negotiation. Domingo, who lately has been turning to the German repertory, will lead off singing the first act of Die Walkure. Then comes Pavarotti in the first act of Otello, new for him, though it is Domingo's signature role. The finale will feature both men in the third act of Il Trovatore, with its famous double-barreled tenor aria...