Summarises what is currently known about Otello and interprets its significance within Verdi's career.

Winton Dean relates how Otello came into being as much because of the persistence of Verdi's publisher as of the composer's lifelong passion for Shakespeare, and the collaboration of the brilliant poet Arrigo Boito. Benedict Sarnaker argues that this magnificent large-scale opera rivals Shakespeare in intensity and profundity. William Weaver's lively review of Shakespeare on the Italian stage in the last century enables us to make a wholly fresh appraisal of Verdi's stature as a dramatist. The libretto itself is a masterpiece, and Andrew Porter has also translated the third-act revision which Verdi came to prefer and which has not been performed outside France before the 1981 ENO production.Contents: 'Otello': The Background, Winton Dean; 'Otello': Drama and Music Benedict Sarnaker; Verdi, Shakespeare and the Italian Audience, William Weaver; Otello: Libretto by Arrigo Boito; Otello: English Translation by Andrew Porter

A comprehensive guide to Verdi's OTELLO, featuring Principal Characters in the opera, Brief Story Synopsis, Story Narrative with Music Highlight Examples, a complete, newly translated LIBRETTO with Italian/English translation side-by-side and music examples, selected Discography and Videography, Dictionary of Opera and Musical Terms, and an insightful and in depth Commentary and Analysis by Burton D. Fisher, noted opera author and lecturer.