Verdi: Otello (Othello)

“It is good to have so telling a reminder on DVD of Placido Domingo's masterly assumption of the role of Otello...[Fleming was] then at her freshest and purest, yet also with power, looking and sounding girlish...Levine's direction is high-powered from beginning to end, matching the singing of his principals” Penguin Guide, 2010 edition ****

“This film of Otello isn't to be overlooked, in spite of its age, because of the quality of the performance.
It formed part of Italian television's pioneering series of productions employing the top rank of native singers when such a group still existed. On this occasion a well-known opera director, Franco Enriquez, was employed to achieve as much as was possible in terms of dramatic fluidity within the technical restrictions then applicable in the studio. The acting of minor characters may be a bit stilted, but the principals, who come under face-to-face scrutiny, stand up well to Enriquez's methods.
So preserved here is a native account of Verdi's masterpiece that would be hard to equal today.
Mario Del Monaco was then at the height of his powers, the reigning Otello of the time, and one of the role's most powerful exponents ever. His portrayal had developed by the late 1950s into a psychological study of some depth and intensity, released on a stream of taut, exciting tone. By his side, Renato Capecchi sings a strongly voiced, highly articulate, intelligently shaped and believable Iago. But perhaps the most compelling performance of all is Rosanna Carteri's Desdemona.
Love, fidelity and sincerity are conveyed in her eyes, indeed her whole being, and in her faultless vocal traversal of the role. Over all presides Serafin, conducting an unobtrusively correct and vital performance of a score he knew so well.
There are downsides. The lip-synch, especially in the case of Capecchi, leaves much to be desired. The sound is confined and occasionally wayward, and the film is obviously a shade worn, but all that's easily forgotten when you're caught up in such a convincing performance.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010