SoloVoce presents: a live Verdi “Otello” performance from Liege Opera

Synopsis: Iago, the vengeful villain, tricks his friend Othello into doubting the fidelity of his wife Desdemona.

Othello ends up killing her in a jealous rage. After Iago’s web of lies is revealed, Othello despairs and takes his

own life.

“...conductor Paolo Arrivabeni and the Orchestra of the Opéra Royal de Wallonie pull all the stops: the

grandiose thunderstorm music at the beginning almost shatters the audience’s eardrums! ….. from a musical

point of view, the figure of Iago is the fulcrum of this opera, and Giovanni Meoni masters this quasi tenor-like

baritone part with a powerful voice and timbre that remains just as brilliant in the upper registers. The way Meoni

subtly brings out his character’s demonic aspect is worthy of mention …. In Liege, Fabio Armiliato gives his

début in the title role of Verdi’s Otello ….. with his brilliant, resonant tenor voice and a semmingly unlimited

energy supply. ….In the role of Desdemona, Daniela Dessi has a quite voluminous soprano voice at her disposal

… The audience is thrilled notwithstanding, and it rewards the singers and the musicians with frequent scene

applause and, at the end, roaring acclaim“ (OMM, April 2011)

“Armiliato’s brilliant Otello …..Dessi’s superb Desdemona” (LA LIBRE BELGIQUE: 26-4-2011)

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Recorded live in April 2011 at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie, Liege