Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Other than arias drama

A dramatic scene from Otello

Original image of act III set from Otello.
Original image of act III set from Otello.

The concertate from act III of Otello has long been a favorite scene in the history of opera. With that in mind, I’m shocked at the disparity of views on YouTube between this and the arias and duets from Otello.

Sponsored
Sponsored

People are missing the good stuff. This is our latest “other than arias” submission.

Video:

Otello atto III final

Domingo, Frittoli & Nucci

Domingo, Frittoli & Nucci

The scene is terrifyingly distasteful in its 16th-century Shakespearean context. The treatment of Desdemona by Otello is horrifying, or at least should be, in our culture.

Traditionally Otello hurtles Desdemona to the ground at this point in the drama as he is convinced of her infidelity with Cassio. Infidelity is still in fashion but publicly throwing one's spouse to the ground in front of the Doge (the executive commander of the Venetian Republic), well, that has gone out of fashion.

The video clip I’ve included is particularly chilling. Otello, here portrayed by Placido Domingo, doesn’t throw her to the ground but orders her to prostrate herself before him.

Video:

Otello- 3. A terra!... si...

1955 Tebaldi MET

1955 Tebaldi MET

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a more effective moment in an opera. I can taste the shame and disgrace that must fill Desdemona’s mouth.

The rest of the scene hits me wrong, though, because the music is different than the standard version of Otello. This is apparently from the Paris version Verdi put together in 1894, which also included ballet music in the third act.

It feels as though Verdi’s heart wasn’t in it and indeed it wasn’t for the ballet music. According to classical.net Verdi thought the ballet music was, "artistically speaking, it is a monstrosity."

I’m unable to find a resource that explains why Verdi rewrote this. At least I can’t find it online. Maybe I’ll darken the door of a university library at some point and find out the truth.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Seals hook up with Beaver

Salty’s Escape is a Mexican-Style cerveza brewed with corn and puffed Jasmine rice
Next Article

Flowering pear trees in Kensington not that nice

Empty dirt plots in front of Ken Cinema
Original image of act III set from Otello.
Original image of act III set from Otello.

The concertate from act III of Otello has long been a favorite scene in the history of opera. With that in mind, I’m shocked at the disparity of views on YouTube between this and the arias and duets from Otello.

Sponsored
Sponsored

People are missing the good stuff. This is our latest “other than arias” submission.

Video:

Otello atto III final

Domingo, Frittoli & Nucci

Domingo, Frittoli & Nucci

The scene is terrifyingly distasteful in its 16th-century Shakespearean context. The treatment of Desdemona by Otello is horrifying, or at least should be, in our culture.

Traditionally Otello hurtles Desdemona to the ground at this point in the drama as he is convinced of her infidelity with Cassio. Infidelity is still in fashion but publicly throwing one's spouse to the ground in front of the Doge (the executive commander of the Venetian Republic), well, that has gone out of fashion.

The video clip I’ve included is particularly chilling. Otello, here portrayed by Placido Domingo, doesn’t throw her to the ground but orders her to prostrate herself before him.

Video:

Otello- 3. A terra!... si...

1955 Tebaldi MET

1955 Tebaldi MET

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a more effective moment in an opera. I can taste the shame and disgrace that must fill Desdemona’s mouth.

The rest of the scene hits me wrong, though, because the music is different than the standard version of Otello. This is apparently from the Paris version Verdi put together in 1894, which also included ballet music in the third act.

It feels as though Verdi’s heart wasn’t in it and indeed it wasn’t for the ballet music. According to classical.net Verdi thought the ballet music was, "artistically speaking, it is a monstrosity."

I’m unable to find a resource that explains why Verdi rewrote this. At least I can’t find it online. Maybe I’ll darken the door of a university library at some point and find out the truth.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego's Uptown Planners challenged by renters from Vibrant Uptown

Two La Jolla planning groups fight for predominance
Next Article

Flowering pear trees in Kensington not that nice

Empty dirt plots in front of Ken Cinema
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.