The Lyric Opera of Chicago production of Giuseppe Verdi’s “Otello” boasts a superior cast, even when one of the three main characters, Iago, was replaced by his understudy.
South African tenor Johan Botha has the title role, Puerto Rican-born Ana Maria Martinez portrays Desdemona, and because bass-baritone Falk Struckmann could only complete the first act as Iago, the role was covered by American baritone Todd Thomas in the following three acts.
Based on the Shakespeare drama of the same name, “Otello” is a simultaneously condensed and expanded version of this terrible tragedy. Condensed because the librettist Arrigo Boito omitted aspects of the play, leaving out even the memorable but chilling line “Put out the light and then put out the light,” which precedes the murder. Expanded because the tender first act love duet between Otello and Desdemona gives an achingly beautiful account of why this gentle, refined woman fell in love with the battle-scarred Moor.
Clad completely in white, whether wearing a nightgown or day dress, Martinez is a glowing Desdemona, her soprano voice capable of expressing the warmth and guileless compassion of the tragic heroine. She can sing with passion, but also, as in her song of the willow, her pianissimo is exquisite, long of line and overflowing with emotion.
Johan Botha is a powerhouse of a tenor, amply able to handle Verdi’s demands, as his character moves from triumphant lover to dangerous giant tormented by jealousy. His all-consuming rage has been ignited by the innuendos and outright lies of Iago, his ensign, who feigns friendship, but succeeds in achieving Otello’s downfall.
The opening night audience was surprised when Lyric’s general director Anthony Freud came on stage after the first act and told us that bass-baritone Falk Struckmann was unable to continue singing during to severe allergies, and was being replaced by baritone Todd Thomas.
We need not have worried about Thomas’ ability to deliver. The first number in the second act is Iago’s demonic profession of faith “Credo in un Dio crudel,” and there was no doubt that this American singer, who has sung this character in Phoenix and Des Moines, was ready for prime time. He gave it his all, and the audience was on his side, cheering him amid and after his excellent performance.
French conductor Bertrand De Billy had the baton and led the Lyric Orchestra in a chiaroscuro performance, alternating the lights and shadows in Verdi’s music as skillfully as any Renaissance painter wielded his brush.
The set for the first three acts is Shakespearean, with three levels. Designed by John Gunter, it accommodates the crowds jammed together watching the arrival of the tempest-tossed fleet, but it is overlarge for Iago and his scheming. The final act must be set in Desdemona’s bed chamber and indeed it was, complete with the little Marian altar where the doomed heroine says her final prayers.
Only the coldest heart is unmoved by this tragic tale, and Martinez is such an effective actress that Desdemona’s dread of Otello fills the whole opera house. As for the composer, while others were writing about Faust and his bargain with the devil, the closest Verdi ever came to depicting Satan was Igao, and Todd Thomas’ Iago opening night was evil incarnate.
This year is the bicentennial of the birth of Giuseppe Verdi. No opera company needs an excuse to schedule a Verdi opera, but this celebration has been city wide, with “Macbeth” presented in a concert version by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra recently and Verdi’s “Joan of Arc” at Chicago Opera Theatre last month. Viva Verdi! and Viva Otello at Lyric Opera of Chicago.
“Otello” runs at the Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago, through November 2. For tickets and information, call 312-332-2244 or visit Lyric Opera’s website.
