Opera on 3 - Rossini's Otello

A concert performance of Rossini's rarely heard opera, setting Francesco Berio di Salsa's libretto based on a French translation of Shakespeare's play. The American tenor John Osborn sings the title role with Anna Caterina Antonacci as his wife Desdemona. Rossini's Otello was written for performance in Naples and first given in 1816. It many respects it has been overshadowed by Verdi's operatic masterpiece but Rossini's opera marks a real development in his dramatic style. The libretto gives a different emphasis to some of the characters both in Shakespeare's original and in Verdi's version most notably Iago. Rossini writes Otello, Iago and Rodrigo as tenors and his librettist replaces the important stolen handkerchief with a letter. The whole opera takes place in Venice with the Cypriot location forgotten. Presented by Alexandra Wilson with comments from Rossini biographer Richard Osborne. Evelino Pido conducts a concert performance in the Theatre Chatelet, Paris by the Lyon Opera recorded last month. Otello ..... John Osborn (Tenor) Desdemona ..... Anna Caterina Antonacci (Mezzo-soprano) Rodrigo ..... Dmitri Korchak (Tenor) Jago ..... José Manuel Zapata (Tenor) Emilia ...... José Maria Lo Monaco (Mezzo-soprano) Doge of Venice and Gondolier ..... Tansel Akzeybek (Tenor) Lucio ..... Fabrice Constans (Tenor) Elmiro ..... Marco Vinco (Bass) Lyon Opera Orchestra and Chorus Evelino Pidò (Conductor).