Otello

Venice, at the end of the 15th century. The general Otello returns victorious from war. The people and his wife Desdemona celebrate his homecoming – but their happiness will be shortlived. Iago, filled with hatred for Otello, hatches a plot to destroy his enemy’s life ...

The story of Othello is probably one of the most famous in European literary history. Verdi was fascinated by the works of Shakespeare throughout his life. He had already set Macbeth to music 40 years earlier, and OTELLO was followed a few years later by his final opera, Falstaff.

Inspired by Shakespeare’s depictions of the deepest human emotions, Verdi found ideal operatic material in his plays. He was initially very hesitant about setting OTELLO, however, and the opera world owes one of Verdi’s most powerful works to the persuasive skills of his librettist, Arrigo Boito.

Nearly 140 years after its world premiere at La Scala Milan, the subject matter of OTELLO still stirs controversy – beyond the themes of love and lust for revenge. In the end, the question remains: Where do we stand as a society? And what has really changed?

Following his success with the first production at La Scala Milan in 2024|25, the celebrated Italian director Leo Muscato – known in Bonn for La Cenerentola, Apgrippina and the love for three oranges – returns as a long-term guest and will stage a tragic opera here for the first time.

Cast:

Music director: Dirk Kaftan

Stage director: Leo Muscato

Set designer: Federica Parolini

Costume designer: Silvia Aymonino

Chorus director: André Kellinghaus

With: George Oniani, Kathryn Henry, Franco Vassallo and others