Barbara Di Castri

In the 16th century, in Cyprus, at the port of Famagusta, General Otello arrives with his ship after defeating the Turkish navy in the Mediterranean and securing Venetian rule over Cyprus, but jealousy, conspiracy and revenge lead to tragedy. ‘Otello’ is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with a libretto by Arrigo Boito based on William Shakespeare’s ‘Othello, the Moor of Venice’, and premiered on 5 February 1887 at La Scala in Milan. Taken from the ‘Tutto Verdi’ box set of 27 Verdi operas. Recorded live at the Salzburg Festival, 5–10 August 2008.

The remains of the Roman baths at Baia form the unique backdrop to this performance of Mascagni's opera, recorded live in 2007. Zhang Jiemin conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro di San Carlo, Naples, with performances from Ildikó Komlósi, Sung Kyu Park, Cinzia De Mola and Marco di Felice.