Otello (1986 film)
Encyclopedia
Otello is a 1986
film based on the Giuseppe Verdi
opera
of the same name
based on the Shakespeare
play Othello
. The film was directed by Franco Zeffirelli
and starred Plácido Domingo
(in blackface
) in the title role
, Katia Ricciarelli
as Desdemona
and Justino Díaz
as Iago
. The Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro alla Scala
were conducted by Lorin Maazel
.
The film premiered in West Germany
on August 28, 1986, and received a U.S. theatrical release on September 12, 1986.
, provoking Otello to murder her in a blind rage.
However, a major change is that Otello kills Iago at the end by throwing a spear at him, while in the stage version of the opera, he does nothing to him.
premiere) is inserted into the festivities of the first and third acts in the opera in the film.
In the film, when Iago is informing Otello about Cassio's supposed dream in which he apparently said to Desdemona "Let us hide our loves", we see Cassio singing the words, not Iago, as in the original stage version; therefore, Zeffirelli is showing the audience a scene which actually never took place, since the dream is a complete fabrication of Iago's. The scene is never presented this way when the opera is performed onstage.
Another of Zeffirelli's decisions was to show, complete with screams and sound effects, a flashback of marauding soldiers attacking an African village and snatching Otello (as a baby) from his mother, while the adult Otello and Desdemona sing their Act I love duet.
Despite the fact that Leonard Maltin
, in his Movie and Video guide, called the film "nearly flawless", others did not agree. Zeffirelli was soundly criticized by Vincent Canby
in the New York Times for some of these alterations. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A0DE5DA163DF931A2575AC0A960948260
However, on the soundtrack album of the opera, released by EMI
, the music is presented with no cuts or additions, exactly as it always is whenever Otello is performed on the stage, and the "dream" sequence is heard exactly as Verdi and Boito wrote it, not as is seen in the film. But the soundtrack album has not proved to be nearly as popular as Plácido Domingo's first recording of the opera, released in 1978 by RCA Victor.
's Ran
. In the same category, it was also nominated for a Golden Globe. The film was also entered into the 1986 Cannes Film Festival
.
1986 in film
-Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....
film based on the Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
of the same name
Otello
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
based on the Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
play Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
. The film was directed by Franco Zeffirelli
Franco Zeffirelli
Franco Zeffirelli KBE is an Italian director and producer of films and television. He is also a director and designer of operas and a former senator for the Italian center-right Forza Italia party....
and starred Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
(in blackface
Blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
) in the title role
Othello (character)
Othello is a character in Shakespeare's Othello . The character's origin is traced to the tale, "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio. There, he is simply referred to as the Moor....
, Katia Ricciarelli
Katia Ricciarelli
-Biography:Born at Rovigo, Veneto, to a very poor family, she struggled during her younger years when she studied music.She studied at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice, won several vocal competitions in 1968, and made her professional debut as Mimì in La bohème in Mantua in 1969,...
as Desdemona
Desdemona
Desdemona is a character in William Shakespeare's play Othello.Desdemona may also refer to:People* Desdemona , a soprano role in the 1816 opera Otello by Gioachino Rossini...
and Justino Díaz
Justino Díaz
Justino Díaz is an internationally renowned bass-baritone opera singer. In 1963, Díaz won an annual contest held at the Metropolitan Opera of New York, becoming the "first" Puerto Rican to obtain such an honor and as a consequence, made his Metropolitan debut on October 1963 in Verdi's Rigoletto...
as Iago
Iago
Iago is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Othello . The character's source is traced to Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio's tale "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi . There, the character is simply "the ensign". Iago is a soldier and Othello's ancient . He is the husband of Emilia,...
. The Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro alla Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
were conducted by Lorin Maazel
Lorin Maazel
Lorin Varencove Maazel is an American conductor, violinist and composer.- Early life :Maazel was born to Jewish-American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States, primarily at his parents' home in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. His father, Lincoln Maazel , was...
.
The film premiered in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
on August 28, 1986, and received a U.S. theatrical release on September 12, 1986.
Plot
With only a few exceptions, the film follows the same plot as the opera. Iago plots and brings about Otello's downfall by convincing him that his wife Desdemona is engaged in an affair with the young lieutenant CassioMichael Cassio
Michael Cassio, or simply Cassio, is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's Othello. The source of the character is the 1565 tale "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio; Cassio is unnamed in Cinthio but referred to as "the squadron leader." In the play, Cassio is a young and handsome lieutenant...
, provoking Otello to murder her in a blind rage.
However, a major change is that Otello kills Iago at the end by throwing a spear at him, while in the stage version of the opera, he does nothing to him.
Cast
- Plácido DomingoPlácido DomingoPlácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
- Otello - Katia RicciarelliKatia Ricciarelli-Biography:Born at Rovigo, Veneto, to a very poor family, she struggled during her younger years when she studied music.She studied at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice, won several vocal competitions in 1968, and made her professional debut as Mimì in La bohème in Mantua in 1969,...
- Desdemona - Justino DíazJustino DíazJustino Díaz is an internationally renowned bass-baritone opera singer. In 1963, Díaz won an annual contest held at the Metropolitan Opera of New York, becoming the "first" Puerto Rican to obtain such an honor and as a consequence, made his Metropolitan debut on October 1963 in Verdi's Rigoletto...
- Iago - Petra Malakova - Emilia
- Urbano BarberiniUrbano BarberiniUrbano Barberini is an Italian actor fluent in Italian and French. His most recognized role in the English-speaking countries was in his work in Dario Argento's film Opera though in the English dubbing, his voice was replaced with a more masculine actor's voice...
- Cassio - Massimo Foschi - Lodovico
- Edwin Francis - Montano
- Sergio Nicolai - Roderigo
- Remo Remotti - Brabantio
- Antonio Pierfederici - Doge
Music
For the most part, the film follows the original score of the opera with several noticeable exceptions. The entire Willow Song (Salce, salce), Desdemona's only solo aria in the entire opera, and largely considered one of the most beautiful moments in the work, is omitted, although her Ave Maria, which follows immediately, is retained in the film. There are, at various points, small cuts in the music (such as the moment at the end of the storm scene in which the chorus is cut short and the film skips to the recitativo between Iago and Roderigo. This is in stark contrast to stage productions of Otello, where the opera is never cut. There are also two additions: the extra music from the rarely performed third act ballet (written for the opera's ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
premiere) is inserted into the festivities of the first and third acts in the opera in the film.
In the film, when Iago is informing Otello about Cassio's supposed dream in which he apparently said to Desdemona "Let us hide our loves", we see Cassio singing the words, not Iago, as in the original stage version; therefore, Zeffirelli is showing the audience a scene which actually never took place, since the dream is a complete fabrication of Iago's. The scene is never presented this way when the opera is performed onstage.
Another of Zeffirelli's decisions was to show, complete with screams and sound effects, a flashback of marauding soldiers attacking an African village and snatching Otello (as a baby) from his mother, while the adult Otello and Desdemona sing their Act I love duet.
Despite the fact that Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
, in his Movie and Video guide, called the film "nearly flawless", others did not agree. Zeffirelli was soundly criticized by Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...
in the New York Times for some of these alterations. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A0DE5DA163DF931A2575AC0A960948260
However, on the soundtrack album of the opera, released by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, the music is presented with no cuts or additions, exactly as it always is whenever Otello is performed on the stage, and the "dream" sequence is heard exactly as Verdi and Boito wrote it, not as is seen in the film. But the soundtrack album has not proved to be nearly as popular as Plácido Domingo's first recording of the opera, released in 1978 by RCA Victor.
Reception
The film was nominated for a Bafta Award for the Best Foreign Language Film in 1987, but the award was won by Akira KurosawaAkira Kurosawa
was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
's Ran
Ran (film)
is a 1985 Japanese-French jidaigeki film written and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film starred Tatsuya Nakadai as Hidetora Ichimonji, an aging Sengoku-era warlord who decides to abdicate as ruler in favor of his three sons. It also stars Mieko Harada as the wife of Ichimonji's eldest son...
. In the same category, it was also nominated for a Golden Globe. The film was also entered into the 1986 Cannes Film Festival
1986 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Sydney Pollack*Alexandre Mnouchkine*Alexandre Trauner*Charles Aznavour*Danièle Thompson*István Szabó*Lino Brocka*Philip French*Sonia Braga*Tonino Delli Colli-Feature film competition:* After Hours by Martin Scorsese...
.