David Pountney’s staging of Verdi’s “Otello” returns to the Poznań Opera House end of May
“Otello” was shown for the first time at the Poznań Opera House on November 25, 2023. Director David Pountney is well-known to Polish audiences. He staged three Polish operas for the Polish National Opera (in co-production with the Bregenzer Festspiele): “King Roger” by Szymanowski, “The Passenger” by Weinberg and “The Merchant of Venice” by Tchaikovsky.
“Otello” will be on stage three times: on May 24, 25 and 26. The cast features Gwyn Hughes Jones and Dominik Sutowicz (title role), Dario Solari and Stanislav Kuflyuk (Jago) and Iwona Sobotka and Ruslana Koval (Desdemona). Jacek Kaspszyk will conduct the Choir and Orchestra of the Poznań Opera House.
“Otello”, one of the last works of the Italian composer, is a masterpiece of tragic opera. Following the success of “Aida”, 74-year-old Verdi stopped writing for several years, assuming he had already said everything in this genre. He returned to the world of opera thanks to Arrigo Boito, an excellent librettist. “Otello” is a drama of great passion: love destroyed by morbid jealousy, obsession with revenge and lust for power.