State Opera of South Australia. Adelaide Festival Theatre. 28 Oct 2014
Verdi’s penultimate opera Otello is based on Shakespeare’s famous play The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice. I won’t dwell on the plot – one can easily resort to Google if needed – except to say that Otello is a successful general who runs foul of Iago, his ensign, by promoting someone else (Cassio) above him. From then on Iago manipulates those around him to cause Otello’s downfall in spectacular fashion. Otello murders Desdemona, his wife, because he has been duped into mistakenly believing she has committed adultery with Cassio. When he realises Iago has manipulated him, Otello commits suicide.
Verdi ignores Act 1 of the play – well at least his librettist does – and other scenes are abbreviated, but the key theme of racism is not omitted. Otello is a Moor, but director Simon Phillips has taken the decision not to have the artist playing the role wear at least a swarthy complexion. This choice immediately eliminates the possibility that Iago’s hatred of Otello is racially motivated, at least in part, but it also (thankfully) removes the obvious and somewhat cliché (offensive?) imagery of good versus evil with a ‘black’ Otello and a ‘white’ Desdemona.
In his director’s note, Simon Phillips opines that Verdi’s opera Otello “surpasses its source”. This statement probably waves a red rag to a bullish Shakespeare devotee, but even if it was true, Phillip’s production has one major flaw – he locates it in present time and sets it entirely in the confines of a lower deck on an aircraft carrier. There are two aspects of the plot that do not translate well into such a time and setting: a lost handkerchief being proof-conclusive of Desdemona’s infidelity just doesn’t wash; and Otello’s cruel and humiliating treatment of Desdemona in full view of a prestigious military assembly is simply unbelievable. A different setting in a past era avoids such anachronistic absurdities. But, some aspects of the setting did work extremely well, such as the closed-circuit TV monitors that allowed Iago to spy unseen on others around him.
However this is grand opera and belief is to be suspended after all, so perhaps such things don’t really matter - but I think for many of the audience they did.
Together Bradley Daley (as Otello) and Miriam Gordon-Stewart (Desdemona) lacked chemistry in their love scene, ‘Gia nella note densa’, but individually they excelled. Daley’s aria of vengeance, ‘Si pel ciel marmoreo giuro’ was chilling, and Gordon-Stewart’s ‘willow song’ in the final Act, as she recollects a sad story about one her maids, was a high point of the production. Douglas McNicol played Iago with extreme cynicism and brooding hatred. His ‘Credi in un Dio crudel’ (I believe in a cruel God) was sung with authority and total believability (he deserved his copious ‘boos’ and jeers from the audience in the curtain calls!). Catriona Barr was excellent as Emilia, Pelham Andrews was resonant and commanding as Lodovico, and Jason Wasley (Roderigo), Thomas Millhouse (Montano) and Jeremy Tatchell (Herald) convincingly rounded out the minor principals.
The pleasant surprise of the night was Bernard Hull’s inspired performance as Cassio. He has never sounded or looked so confidant and at ease on the SASO stage. Bravo!
Brad Cohen extracted the very best from the mighty Adelaide Symphony and the superb SASO Chorus.
Kym Clayton
When: 25 Oct to 1 Nov
Where: Festival Theatre
Bookings: bass.net.au
