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Vindictive Depths
MIKE WHEELER was at
Opera North's 'Otello'
Verdi's Otello has one of the most thrilling openings in the repertoire, and in Opera North's new production it simultaneously grabbed you by the throat and carried you along on a terrific surge of energy (Theatre Royal, Nottingham, UK, 20 March 2013).
Ronald Samm didn't quite establish Otello as a forceful presence at his first appearance, with his opening cry of 'Esultate' needing more of a heroic ring. But he vividly charted the character's inexorable decline, from powerfully-built leader (capitalising on his imposing physical presence) and the tenderness of his Act 1 duet with Desdemona, through continual wrong-footing at the hands of David Kempster's bluff, manipulative Iago, to shambling emotional wreck...
Copyright © 31 March 2013
Mike Wheeler,
Derby UK
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