Daegu International Opera Festival 'Othello' Grand Finale... Performances on July 3-4

Daegu Opera House will perform Verdi's opera 'Otello' as the final work of the 20th Daegu International Opera Festival on the 3rd and 4th of next month.

This production was selected through Daegu Opera House's 'Daegu·Gyeongbuk Private Opera Company Festival Entry Contest' and will be presented as a new production in collaboration with Yeongnam Opera Company, which has 39 years of experience.

Otello is a grand work composed by Verdi when he was over seventy years old. Based on Shakespeare's play 'Othello, The Moor of Venice,' the libretto was written by Arrigo Boito. Verdi admired Shakespeare's works, and Otello is the second work Verdi created based on Shakespeare's plays, following Macbeth. It is also a work Verdi produced after reversing his retirement, releasing it 16 years later. Verdi declared his retirement after the premiere of 'Aida' in 1871 but composed Otello in 1887.

[Photo by Daegu Opera House]

The protagonist Otello is a general of the Republic of Venice and a war hero. However, he is a Moor born in North Africa and harbors an inferiority complex. He is deceived by his subordinate Iago's schemes, suspects his wife Desdemona of infidelity, and ultimately heads toward a tragic end. Besides the intriguing storyline, famous arias include 'Una vela!,' 'Credo in un Dio crudel,' and 'Ave Maria.'

Director Jeong Seon-young stated, "I plan to focus on Otello's fate, trapped in the snare of inferiority hidden beneath a solid exterior, leading to tragedy," adding, "To present Otello's pain and folly as a timeless dilemma, I symbolically directed the production while maintaining the original era and setting."

The orchestra will be conducted by Carlo Palleschi from Italy.

Tenors Lee Jeong-won and Yoon Byung-gil will perform as Otello, sopranos Yoo So-young and Lee Hwa-young as Desdemona, and baritones Kim Seung-chul and Je Sang-chul as Iago.

The 20th Daegu International Opera Festival will conclude with the 'Saya Opera Awards' held on the 10th of next month following the Otello performances.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.