This is an odd performance. Despite mid-level singing mostly by voices that are not world-class, it has a little-engine-that-could way about it that makes it work as an evening at the theatre. It can only be seen as an inexpensive alternative to its two competitors, however: both the Opera Rara and Philips recordings are better. And of those two, the Philips is the finer, with a young José Carreras in the title role and Frederica von Stade a flawless Desdemona, with a supporting cast that includes two other excellent tenors and Samuel Ramey.
The Opera Rara set, also with a great deal to recommend it, features Bruce Ford, always wonderful but here a notch or two below Carreras, both vocally and histrionically, Elizabeth Futral as a sensitive Desdemona, and a pair of tenors who are Rossini stylists. David Parry’s conducting (Rara) is more classical than that of Jesús Lopez-Cobos, but the latter leads a thrilling–and overall more persuasive–performance. The Opera Rara set includes as an appendix a fascinating alternate ending to the opera. (A third recording, on Dynamic, uses a version of the opera Rossini later composed for the mezzo Maria Malibran to sing the title role; as such, it is not in the running here.)
The opera itself is an acquired taste. Those who demand any sort of fidelity to Shakespeare will be horrified by the differences in the plot (Rossini used a different source), and loyalty to Verdi’s masterpiece will tend to get in the way. Here, Otello seems like a sort-of bit player in his own opera (he rarely makes us feel anything for him and we never get to see him and Desdemona as a happy couple), Iago has no true aria, and Rodrigo winds up being a combination of himself and Cassio–the character with the most to sing.
But Rossini is always worth hearing, and there is some gorgeous music. The entire third act is justly admired; it somehow awakened both composer and librettist to a sense of true tragedy. An offstage Gondolier’s Song sets a mood of great foreboding and sadness; Desdemona’s Willow Song and Prayer can rival Verdi’s for both beauty and atmosphere (and you must hear Montserrat Caballé sing it on her “Rossini Rarities” CD); and Otello’s uncertainty before he finally kills his bride is fraught with drama and pathos.
Earlier there is some fine music as well: an energetic duet for Iago and Rodrigo, and a gentle, simple duet for Emilia and Desdemona in Act 1; the whole Act 1 finale, particularly the introspective section for Desdemona, Otello, and Emilio (her father), “Ti parli l’amore”, and the busy quintet that follows; Rodrigo’s second-act volley of coloratura and high notes (“Che ascolto?”); a duet for Otello and Iago; and the chugging finale to the second act. And when the tenors are dueling with high-Ds, it is irresistibly showtime.
Well, what to do with this performance? Jessica Pratt’s Desdemona is lovely and fragile, though she is capable of fine outrage; she interpolates high notes every so often and they are in good taste. Michael Spyres has both the baritonal bottom notes and the more high-flying ones for the title role; you can sense how difficult the role is, however and that takes some of the nobility from the character. Filippo Adami’s Rodrigo makes mud of the coloratura in his aria in Act 2 but otherwise sings fearlessly and very expressively in the cruelly high tessitura with a very bright, unappealing tone.
Giorgo Trucco’s Iago is nicely sneering and he gets through the music with passion. And Ugo Guagliardo’s bass Emilio is terrific–this is an important role here, and moreover, since he has the opera’s only dark voice it must impress. The rest of the cast offers a sense of occasion, and the “live” sound (this was recorded at performances in Germany in July, 2008) is quite good. Antonino Fogliani leads a very exciting performance and the orchestra and chorus work very hard. No libretto is included, but a track-by-track synopsis is clear; an Italian-only libretto is available online. As I said at the start, there is something appealing about the effort made here, and at half the price of the Philips and a quarter of the Opera Rara, this could be worthwhile. But given the choice, take the Philips first and Opera Rara’s second.
