E X T E N S I O N OTHELLO AND MUSIC Othello, like other Shakespearian tragedies, has inspired a number of composers. Among them the Czech violinist Antonin Dvor k (18411904), who wrote an ouverture 1 Othello op. 63, and the Russian pianist Dmitrij Shostakovich (1906-75), who produced remarkable stage2 music for the play. But it was mostly Italian musicians who could not resist the fascination of lives ruined by an unreasoning3 passion that poisons relationships4. The first Italian musician attracted by the tragedy of Othello was Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868). He staged5 an opera in three acts based on a libretto by Francesco Berrio di Salsa. Rossini s opera (his 19th drama) was first performed in Naples,Teatro del Fondo, on December 4th, 1816. The opera was criticised by Shakespeare s fans because it did not show the intricacy6 of tragic passions and merely stressed the drama of jealousy. In some later representations, the drama was made to finish with a happy ending and the reconciliation between Desdemona and Othello. Later the tragic themes of Shakespeare s dramas attracted Giuseppe Verdi s genius (1813-1901). He staged Macbeth and then, in the early 1870s, at the summit of his career, Arrigo Boito proposed a libretto to him based on Shakespeare s Othello. It was so stimulating that Verdi, then in his 74th year, forgot7 his differences with Boito and produced his tragic masterpiece8 in four acts. Othello debuted at Milan s La Scala on February 5th, 1887, and it is still remembered as one of the most interesting versions in the world today. In Othello, the drama becomes one with the continuous and changing musical text: it reflects every aspect of the characters and every movement of the action. Shakespeare, Rossini and Verdi tell three different versions of Othello.The plot9 is similar, but the nature of the tragedy changes. Shakespeare and Verdi present a saint or a goddess10 who is destroyed by her husband s jealousy. Rossini presents a woman who is the victim of her husband s rage11. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. ouverture: brano musicale di apertura. stage: palcoscenico. unreasoning: irrazionale. relationship: relazione. stage: mettere in scena. intricacy: complessità. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 29 forget (forgot-forgotten): dimenticare. masterpiece: capolavoro. plot: trama. goddess: dea. rage: rabbia, ira.