New opera sees Otello enter the 20th-century

IT’S curious to think that there have been more than 200 operatic interpretations of Shakespeare’s works, even more curious is the fact that only a handful are held in high esteem.

It’s safe to say that one of the most lauded is Otello, and the latest version of Verdi’s masterpiece premiered at Leeds Grand Theatre on Wednesday.

This reverence is partly due to the fact that it showcases one of the most demanding roles for a tenor, but also because the composer and his librettist, Arrigo Boito, adapted the play Othello so consummately.

Little is lost in translation. In fact, much is gained.

“About 70 per cent of the dialogue is used verbatim from Shakespeare,” says Ronald Samm, the man charged with taking on the Moor as part of Opera North’s new production. “Particularly in the soliloquies. For purists, it depends on how you like your Bard. If you like your Shakespeare done traditionally, well, erm, you might be a bit surprised – we certainly don’t appear wearing tights.

“Verdi and his librettist, they really distil the story too. In Othello, the play, it starts off in Venice, but with the opera they go straight into Cyprus and everything you see happens over the period of a single day. They really narrowed the story down to the bare essentials and the relationships between people. There’s no slow burn here – you’re straight in at the deep end.”

This bold reinvention, which celebrates the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth, revisits what is considered to be the zenith of grand Italian opera.

But stalwarts will be pleased to know that this version of Otello retains the central story of Venetian army officer, Iago, who poisons the mind of his black general in order to have his rival, Cassio, murdered. Otello’s betrayal and subsequent descent into madness amounts to one of the greatest tragedies ever created.

It is also one of the earliest chronicles of a very modern day phenomenon: racism. Perhaps this is why Tim Alberry’s version, which has five more performances at The Grand before going on tour, sees the plot shifted from the 17th-century to the 1950s.

It’s a move which won’t necessarily please the traditionalists, but there’s one modern amendment which few could argue with: having a black man play the part.

Incredibly, Trinidad-born Samm was the first black man to play the operatic Otello in Britain, and that was two years ago with a different company in Birmingham.

Prior to that tenors would literally have to black up to take on the role. It wasn’t a phenomenon exclusive to these shores, it should be pointed out, but Britain was one of the last countries in the world where white tenors exclusively played the part of Otello.

This would frequently see international opera stars like Placido Domingo undergo a transformation which, even in less politically correct times, always seemed somewhat dubious.

“I know that at the time that singers were blacking up for roles there were black tenors who could do the part,” says Samm. “It’s just that they were slightly overlooked and there wasn’t the goodwill to go out there and find them. That’s what we have to be careful of now – we have to make sure everybody gets an equal opportunity to audition.

“Thankfully Opera North are very forward thinking in that respect and the larger opera houses should take heed of that.”

Samm is something of a favourite with the Leeds-based company. He’s already taken large parts in productions including Mozart’s The Magic Flute and House of the Dead by Janacek. But giving him the sought-after lead in Otello is a real privilege, albeit one he’s earned.

He says: “It is a great honour to be doing this role. It’s one of those parts you dream about but never really imagine you’ll be cast in.

“But I also think the operatic stage in general should reflect British society much more. There could be a lot more involvement of non-white singers, be it black or Chinese or Indian, whatever. It has changed somewhat already, but not everyone realises it. I will do concerts and people still come up and say: ‘I didn’t know there were black opera singers’ and you sometimes think: ‘Oh come on, really? After all this time?’ I mean, I could list 30 great non-white opera singers in this country,

“Perhaps it’s not evident enough in some ways. We need to make sure we break out of that, because if we don’t, only certain people from a certain section of society can be exposed to it. As a result, how many Leontyne Prices or Jessye Normans are we missing out on just because we don’t expose opera to people of different backgrounds?”

But he accepts that 
the blacking up of old was 
less about racism and more to do with ensuring companies cast the best singers for this most challenging of roles.

“From the first act, every time Otello opens his mouth, it is declamatory,” says Samm.

“And it is all at the top end of your register. It’s also loud because your voice has to cut through the orchestra which makes it a hefty part you really have to prepare for.

“The role also runs through quite a range of emotions. He goes from being triumphant to lyrical to jealous, and as the story progresses it gets more and more frenetic.

“Act two is by far the hardest, vocally speaking. Act three is a little less so, but act four, the act with the murder, it seems to come to a natural end.”

And yet, despite chronicling such a monumental Shakespearean narrative, it’s surprising to discover that the production is barely two and a half hours long: which is comparatively short but sweet in the opera world.

“Yes,” says Samm, already sounding more than a little weary after just one performance.

“But it’s more than long enough as it is.”

Otello kicks off opera season

Verdi’s epic is the first of four operas which make up Opera North’s spring season at Leeds Grand Theatre and on tour.
Next up is La Clemenza de Tito, a lesser known composition by Mozart on January 31 and February 2, 30 and 22.
Unusually that is followed by a double bill, Dido and Aeneas and La Voix Humaine, the latter starring Lesley Garrett, on February 14, 17, 19, 21 and 23.
Otello continues its run at Leeds Grand Theatre on January 24 and 30, then February 1, 13 and 16. Before touring to Nottingham, Newcastle, Belfast and Salford.