With Opera 2026-27: Otello - Giuseppe Verdi

At almost 70 years old, Verdi didn't really want to write an opera anymore. But his librettist Arrigo Boito convinced him to set Shakespeare's Otello to music.

At almost 70 years old, Verdi didn't really want to write an opera anymore. But his librettist Arrigo Boito convinced him to set Shakespeare's Otello to music, in which Iago represents evil, Desdemona the good and Otello the tragic sacrifice, which becomes an instrument of evil and destroys good. When the opera was announced, the whole of Europe was eagerly awaiting the premiere in 1887 — the cheers at the end were endless.

Director: The Metropolitan Opera
Actors: Michele Mariotti, Ailyn Perez, Deborah Nansteel, Brian Jagde, Piotr Buszewski, Artur Rucinski