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An Evening at the Opera – Verdi’s Otello
Introduction by Ambassador Alan Nazareth
Speakers
118 minutes | Italy | 1986
Italian with English subtitles.
Synopsis
Legendary Italian film director Franco Zeffirelli (of Romeo and Juliet fame) and renowned tenor Plácido Domingo unite their mighty talents for this lavish production of Giuseppe Verdi’s classic opera based on Shakespeare’s timeless, tragic masterpiece, Othello.
Victorious naval Admiral Otello (Domingo) returns in triumph to Cyprus (then a Venetian colony and naval base) after defeating Venice’s Ottoman foes at sea. He receives a hero’s welcome, particularly from his beautiful wife Desdemona (Katia Ricciarelli), but not everyone is elated. Iago (Justino Diaz), a disgruntled naval captain whom Otello had earlier demoted, is already plotting his downfall. He does this by stirring up his innate jealous nature and arousing suspicions about his wife. This results in tragic consequences.
In this production, Lorin Maazel conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro alla Scala. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe and BAFTA award for Best Foreign Language Film. Radio Times has described it as “one of the best opera films ever made” and the Daily Telegraph has extolled it as “Grand, dramatic, spectacular and heart-breakingly beautiful”.
Speakers
Ambassador Alan Nazareth
Ambassador Alan Nazareth served as India’s ambassador to several countries including Egypt and Mexico, as Deputy High Commissioner in London and Consul General in New York. He was Director General of the ICCR during the Festivals of India in Britain, USA and France, and is an opera aficionado.
