Description
Book SynopsisWinton Dean relates how Otello came into being as much because of the persistence of Verdi's publisher as of the composer's lifelong passion for Shakespeare, and the collaboration of the brilliant poet Arrigo Boito. Benedict Sarnaker argues that this magnificent large-scale opera rivals Shakespeare in intensity and profundity. William Weaver's lively review of Shakespeare on the Italian stage in the last century enables us to make a wholly fresh appraisal of Verdi's stature as a dramatist. The libretto itself is a masterpiece, and Andrew Porter has also translated the third-act revision which Verdi came to prefer and which has not been performed outside France before the 1981 ENO production.Contents: Otello': The Background, Winton Dean; Otello': Drama and Music Benedict Sarnaker; Verdi, Shakespeare and the Italian Audience, William Weaver; Otello: Libretto by Arrigo Boito; Otello: English Translation by Andrew Porter
Trade Review"Wholehearted recommendation of this valuable new series." "TLS"
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations 'Otello': The Background by Winton Dean 'Otello': Drama and Music by Benedict Sarnaker Verdi, Shakespeare, and the Italian Audience by William Weaver Thematic Guide 'Otello' libretto by Arrigo Boito English translation by Andrew Porter Act One Act Two Act Three Act Four The Paris Revision Discography Bibliography
