At the premiere in autumn 2021, the topic of war was a rather distant one. Today, Immo Karaman's production about a soldier traumatized by war who cannot find his way back into normal family life is much more topical and closer. Every day we hear from people whose existence was previously a civilian one, now one of struggle, destruction and death. What effect do war experiences have on a person's soul and feelings, even if they are over, and what does that mean for those around them? Shakespeare's drama and Verdi's opera have gained a new level of action shaped by our time.
War not only leaves dead enemies in its wake, it also traumatizes the victor. Otello's war memories won't let him go. Trust in other people, a prerequisite for civil coexistence, does not return. The love of his wife Desdemona cannot prevent Otello's soldier's perspective from becoming a delusion of personal self-defense in his marriage. What earns him medals and honors in his job makes him his wife's murderer in civilian life.
Otello's tragedy is being both the perpetrator and the victim. Society, whose prosperity he secured as a soldier, is partly indifferent, partly condemning his destructive behavior in private - it lets the people Otello perish. Giuseppe Verdi's opera ruthlessly formulates the accusation of double standards.
The naval battle rages fiercely in the orchestra, and the victor is greeted gloriously by the chorus in a heroic pose. But musically impressive are above all the desperate scenes of the private person asking for consolation and love. The music of the couple's love scene and Desdemona's last prayer are of breathtaking delicacy. A music drama of tremendous expressiveness, from the opening musical lightning strike to the final kiss of death.
William Shakespeare drew the explosive power of his Othello, the Moor of Veniceespecially from the black complexion of the title character. But both the drama and Verdi's opera aim at conflicts between the individual and society that cannot be limited to the metaphors of external appearances. Our production leaves out the clichés of performance history in order to show human tragedy and social causes more clearly and universally.
The Basque tenor Andeka Gorrotxategi will make his debut in Hanover with this role, which is as rich in voice and performance as it is difficult. Barno Ismatullaeva and Kiandra Howarth alternate as Desdemona, as in the premiere series.
