Dying upon a kiss: Giuseppe Verdi's Otello
An opera talk by Peter Gordon
Date & Time: 19.00-20.00 | Tuesday, 13 September 2016
Venue: Room 307-8, 3/F, British Council, 3 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Speaker: Peter Gordon
Language: English
Free Admission, registration required
Perhaps the greatest and most enduring operatic settings of Shakespeare are by the Italian composer, Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), whose ideas about drama and character were heavily influenced by Shakespeare throughout his career.
In his long life, the beloved Italian composer turned to William Shakespeare for three of his operas: Macbeth, Otello and Falstaff. Verdi had to be coaxed out retirement to compose Otello, but the result is arguably the most masterful translation of any play to the operatic stage. The libretto is faithful in tone and often word-for-word with the original, while the music highlights the emotions, psychology and drama. Otello is as much a dramatic interpretation of Shakespeare, illuminating the original, as a new creative work, matching Shakespeare in their dramatic impact as well as their emotional and psychological depth.
