The music seems to be steeped in the
odorous charm of the warm southern night.
Sixteen years elapsed before the appearance of Verdi's next work. It was
generally supposed that the aged composer had bidden farewell for ever
to the turmoil and excitement of the theatre, and the interest excited
by the announcement of a new opera from his pen was proportionately
keen. The libretto of 'Otello' (1887), a masterly condensation of
Shakespeare's tragedy, was from the pen of Arrigo Boito, himself a
musician of no ordinary accomplishment. The action of the opera opens in
Cyprus, amidst the fury of a tempest. Othello arrives fresh from a
victory over the Turks, and is greeted enthusiastically by the people,
who light a bonfire in his honour. Then follows the drinking scene.
Cassio, plied by Iago, becomes intoxicated and fights with Montano. The
duel is interrupted by the entrance of Othello, who degrades Cassio
from his captaincy, and dismisses the people to their homes. The act
ends with a duet of flawless loveliness between Othello and Desdemona,
the words of which are ingeniously transplanted from Othello's great
speech before the Senate. In the second act Iago advises Cassio to
induce Desdemona to intercede for him, and, when left alone, pours forth
a terrible confession of his unfaith in the famous 'Credo.' This, one of
the few passages in the libretto not immediately derived from
Shakespeare, is a triumph on Boito's part.
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