The opening scene of Act 4 (Scena, Canzone del Salice, Ave Maria) is often referred to as the “lull before the storm”. Essentially, Desdemona, portrayed by Italian soprano Monica Zanettin, has a presentiment that her estranged husband, Otello, might soon take her life. Preparing for bed, assisted by her lady-in-waiting Emilia (mezzosoprano: Joanna Pullicino), Desdemona asks Emilia to lay out her bridal gown. Desdemona entreats Emilia to bury her in this gown, should she die first.
Full of grief, she recalls a cantilena (“Piangea cantando nell’erma landa”) which used to be sung by her mother’s servant, Barbara, after she was abandoned by her lover. The flow of this haunting Willow Song’s verses is dramatically interrupted by Desdemona’s instructions to Emilia and eventually truncated by the wind, ending with a most poignant farewell to Emilia. Alone, Desdemona kneels and devotionally prays the “Ave Maria” – what proves to be her final supplication.
Malta Philharmonic Orchestra | Conductor: Colin Attard
Director: Denise Mulholland | Director of photography: Matthew Muscat Drago
Set Artist: Andrew Borg Wirth | Costume Designer: Luke Azzopardi
(Photo credits: Sonia S. Scerri | Matthew Muscat Drago)
The full episode can be followed on:
Meanwhile, Albert G. Storace’s online review reads:
The second in the series of four excerpts from Verdian operas streamed online by Gaulitana, continued yesterday with the opening scene of Act IV from Verdi’s penultimate opera, Otello.
Composed more than 15 years after Aïda, with his adoring love for Shakespeare and the collaboration of an exceptional librettist like Boito, Verdi then in his 74th year, stunned the opera world with this glorious masterpiece. It is a tragedy where love, insane jealousy and maliciously demonic envy are closely interwined. Verdi composed some of his most tender music in this opera the high points of which in this case are the love duet concluding Act I and the scene under review here.
Set in the very authentic Cittadella of Gozo this prelude to the final tragedy was acted and sang out supremely well by soprano Monica Zanettin in the role of Desdemona. Otello’s loving wife is innocent of all the sins her husband believes her to be guilty of, his mind poisoned by the evil Iago who had sworn to destroy his master and the latter’s spouse. The fine, almost rarefied texture of the music and the candle-lit bed chamber set the tone of this prelude to doom. Sadness hangs in the air and even while the audience knows the outcome, the magic spell still holds it in its thrall. The closing chords with Desdemona’s “Buona notte” to Emilia is redolent with doom.
Monica Zanettin has a wide-ranging voice going from the mellow lower reaches to beautiful crystalline qualities in the middle and upper registers. Every word and phrase had a telling effect in her sad narrative of the Willow Song.
Could it be possible that a more ethereal sound were reached when combining voice and music in the Ave Maria which followed? Yes, Verdi does it and here he paints a picture of devotion and faith but at the same time of fear, dread and uncertainty; yet it is still one in which Desdemona retains her dignity. One’s heart could not but reach out to her, hopeless though it may be.
How great a feeling it is to be drawn into the magic world of opera. It never fails to carry one along with it ONLY IF it is done properly…and this was the case here. The combination of various elements could not but achieve this:
Monica Zanettin carried of her part excellently; Joanna Pullicino as Emilia, Desdemona’s trusted maid acquitted herself very well, small though her role was. The orchestra was on top form under Colin Attard”s direction. The ambience of the Cittadella played its part too, as did Denise Mulholland’s artistic direction, Luke Azzopardi’s costumes, Andrew Borg Wirth’s set and Matthew Muscat Drago’s superb photography.
I am looking forward next week to following Part III of this cycle. Well done to all involved.
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