I sat, eyes transfixed on the famous gold curtain that would soon reveal a masterpiece composed by Verdi. When the curtains were pulled back, what unfolded in front of me was three hours of love, deceit, betrayal, and death, which all add up to a most enjoyable evening.
Johan Botha was Otello, and a rather good one to my untrained ears. And then there was Renee Fleming. I needn’t go into detail on how much I respect this woman’s artistic talent or how much she just blows me away with that voice. When she stepped out onto the stage as Desdemona for the love duet “Giá nella notte densa” with Botha, I had to dab away the tears.
In the opera, Otello’s ensign Iago is upset that he is not the captain and he really just hates Otello. So he plants a seed of deceit and lies in Otello’s head in order to destroy him. He convinces Otello that Desdemona is having an affair with his captain Cassio. Iago so convinces Otello of Desdemona’s infidelity that he vows to strangle her in the bed where she committed her sins. After doing so, he learns that Desdemona was in fact faithful to him all along, so he stabs himself. Cue curtain.
Renee was Ah-MAZING! Johan was excellent. The dude who played Iago was good. The duets were sublime, the chorus and orchestra top notch. It was just a magnificent evening.
A performance is excellent when you don’t think of the person who is playing the character. When your heart breaks for Desdemona instead of thinking that Renee is doing a great job as Desdemona, that’s when you’ve got a great performance on your hands. I just felt so bad that this woman who is totally in love with her husband is praying to the Virgin Mary (Ave Maria) at the hour of her death. When she cries out, “Ah! Emilia, Emilia, addio!” at the end of The Willow Song, you know she knows she’s done for. Renee captured Desdemona so well. She absolutely broke my heart in the final act. I utterly loathed Iago. He just oozes evil, and whoever played him totally rocked the evilness. I was sitting there the whole time wishing that something would cause his demise so that the rest of the town could continue on in peace and harmony. But then, that doesn’t make for good operatic drama. Botha was good. He’s not the best at dramatically collapsing, but the man can sing.
What I love about Otello (aside from everything) is that it contains some of the most beautiful music ever. You’ve got the love duet in the first act, Iago’s evil Credo in Act II, and the heart wrenching Willow Song and Ave Maria in the final act. I’m also just totally blown away by the ensemble pieces in the third act. It amazes me how well the voices intertwine; yet you can still hear Renee Fleming cry out above everyone else.
There you have it. My first live opera experience starring Renee Fleming. Damn! she’s good!!!
Johan Botha was Otello, and a rather good one to my untrained ears. And then there was Renee Fleming. I needn’t go into detail on how much I respect this woman’s artistic talent or how much she just blows me away with that voice. When she stepped out onto the stage as Desdemona for the love duet “Giá nella notte densa” with Botha, I had to dab away the tears.
In the opera, Otello’s ensign Iago is upset that he is not the captain and he really just hates Otello. So he plants a seed of deceit and lies in Otello’s head in order to destroy him. He convinces Otello that Desdemona is having an affair with his captain Cassio. Iago so convinces Otello of Desdemona’s infidelity that he vows to strangle her in the bed where she committed her sins. After doing so, he learns that Desdemona was in fact faithful to him all along, so he stabs himself. Cue curtain.
Renee was Ah-MAZING! Johan was excellent. The dude who played Iago was good. The duets were sublime, the chorus and orchestra top notch. It was just a magnificent evening.
A performance is excellent when you don’t think of the person who is playing the character. When your heart breaks for Desdemona instead of thinking that Renee is doing a great job as Desdemona, that’s when you’ve got a great performance on your hands. I just felt so bad that this woman who is totally in love with her husband is praying to the Virgin Mary (Ave Maria) at the hour of her death. When she cries out, “Ah! Emilia, Emilia, addio!” at the end of The Willow Song, you know she knows she’s done for. Renee captured Desdemona so well. She absolutely broke my heart in the final act. I utterly loathed Iago. He just oozes evil, and whoever played him totally rocked the evilness. I was sitting there the whole time wishing that something would cause his demise so that the rest of the town could continue on in peace and harmony. But then, that doesn’t make for good operatic drama. Botha was good. He’s not the best at dramatically collapsing, but the man can sing.
What I love about Otello (aside from everything) is that it contains some of the most beautiful music ever. You’ve got the love duet in the first act, Iago’s evil Credo in Act II, and the heart wrenching Willow Song and Ave Maria in the final act. I’m also just totally blown away by the ensemble pieces in the third act. It amazes me how well the voices intertwine; yet you can still hear Renee Fleming cry out above everyone else.
There you have it. My first live opera experience starring Renee Fleming. Damn! she’s good!!!
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