Arrigo Boito, librettist
Tim Ribič, assistant director
Cleopatra Purice, choreographer
Wolfgang von Zoubek, set, costume and lighting designer
Matic Kašnik, assistant set designer
Simona Toš, Suzana Rengeo, assistant costume designers

SNG Maribor Symphony Orchestra

SNG Maribor Opera Choir
Zsuzsa Budavari Novak, chorus master

Cast:
Otello, the Moor General: Suny Kyu Park
Desdemona, his wife: Sabina Cvilak, Andreja Zakonjšek Krt
Jago, Iago, Otello’s ensign: Luka Brajnik
Iago’s wife and Desdemona’s servant: Irena Petkova
Cassio, Otello’s captain: Bože Jurić Pešić
Roderigo, Venetian nobleman: Žiga Lakner
Lodovico, Venetian Republic’s ambassador: Luka Ortar
Montano, former governor of Cyprus: Sebastijan Čelofiga
Messenger: Tomaž Planinc
Ballet Ensemble: Vadim Kurgajev, Vasilij Kuzkin, Mircea Golescu, Alexandru Pilca

This February, after an absence of almost three decades, Verdi’s operatic retelling of the tragedy of the Moor of Venice, returned to the stage of the SNG Maribor Opera and Ballet, in a production directed by acclaimed Swiss director Guy Montavon, who is also the general secretary of the European Theatre Directors Association. His directorial vision throws an entirely new light on the infamous Shakespearean tragedy, full of love intrigues, jealousy, betrayal and murder, reworked in the mid-nineteenth century by the librettist Arrigo Boito, a skilled adapter of works from the European canon. One of his final operatic creations, Otello bears Verdi’s unmistakable signature, recognisable in the characteristic fullness of the orchestra’s sound and the virtuosity of the singers. At the same time, however, some elements of the work nod to the compositional techniques of Richard Wagner, who was regarded as one of his artistic rivals. The Maribor Opera has entrusted the score to the italian conductor Roberto Gianola.

• Otello received its premiere performance at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan on 5 February 1887. Among the orchestra’s cellists was a young Arturo Toscanini, who would go on to become one of the most celebrated interpreters of Verdi’s music.
• Giuseppe Verdi was also politically active and in 1861 was elected a member of the first Italian parliament after unification.
• Giuseppe Verdi loved Shakespeare, calling him “the great maestro of the human heart”.
• Otello remains one of the most frequently recorded operas.