When he tried to leave the theater, Verdi discovered that his carriage had no horses. There were 20 curtain calls for the composer. After the last act, the reaction was even more crazed. Verdi was called to the stage for a bow amid thunderous applause. Marek, "the crowning glory of Italian tragic opera."Īfter the first act, there was pandemonium in the house. The judgment made that winter night in Milan has not been altered after a full century - Otello is, in the words of George R. And it wasn't just another opera it wasn't just the pinnacle of his career, either. The man who had thought his opera days were over after finishing Aida at age 58 somehow outdid himself at 74. They couldn't possibly hear a note of the performance, of course, but they just wanted to be there, to be near a historic occasion.Īnd it certainly was historic. People who could not get tickets crowded into the square outside La Scala early that morning, despite the cold weather, and remained all day. The theater was stuffed with anxious patrons an hour before curtain time.
Everyone who was anyone on the international music scene was there. The premiere of Otello - the title got the "h" knocked out of it in Italian - was on Feb. He didn't exactly rush into the assignment, though, and spent the better part of eight years working on this operatic Othello. Boito had the libretto ready quickly and it was so faithful to Shakespeare, so intense with dramatic fire that Verdi couldn't help but be impressed. A few days later, Boito came to see Verdi and the two agreed to collaborate.
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