Verdi: Otello - Barenboim, Staatskapelle Berlin [DVD] [NTSC]

This 2001 production of Otello from the Staatsoper Berlin has some interesting aspects but it is ultimately a disappointing performance because the direction is misguided and two of the three main characters are not sufficiently imposing, at least in this particular setting. Emily Magee as Desdemona is excellent and she is the only main principal who is able to establish herself as a real individual and character right from the start of this production. Indeed she is so vocally strong and imposing that at some stages she is too dominant for the role that she is playing. In the first two acts her singing is almost strident in places where better interpreters have provided all the delicacy and vulnerability that is inherent in Desdemona's character. However, in the final act music she sings extremely well and it is here that the performance finally achieves some of the quality that should be expected in this great opera.

Christian Franz is particularly weak as Otello and it is only in the final two acts that he is also able to establish his character. Prior to this he is neither vocally nor dramatically strong enough to portray Otello and has nowhere near the heroic quality, subtletly and characterisation that Domingo brings to the role in his classic recordings and that Jose Cura provided in the 2006 performance from Barcelona.

Valeri Alexejev sings well enough as Iago, but again his characterisation is only partly successful. His Iago is stronger than Franz's Otello, but it is still not sufficiently strong to really bring out the depth of evil in this man. The problem that both these men have is that they are not great actors and physically they simply do not look right for the characters they are portraying. This is not helped by the modern costumes which appear to be based on the crew and passengers of a cruise ship and do not give any assistance in making the characters impressive. Another problem is the set, which is so tall that it dwarfs the performers and again reduces their ability to make their characters prominent in the performance. However, the more that I watch this production the more it becomes apparent that the biggest problem for the performers is Jurgen Flimm's direction, which either gives them dull, silly or just plain ridiculous things to do. It turns this great Shakespearean tragedy into a farce or mere entertainment at many points.

The set appears to be meant to portray a cruise ship. It is semicircular, three storeys high and largely composed of matalwork, transparent plastic and metal stairways. There are some good aspects to the set, it rotates to provide scene changes. It also provides good opportunities for movement around the stage, giving a very useful vertical option for movements as well as the usual horizontal. However this all just gets confusing and rather silly in the scene where Otello is hiding himself in order to overhear Iago tricking Cassio into apparently confessing his affair with Desdemona. This is achieved far more effectively with a very simple modern set in the Barcelona production starring Cura.

One very positive element of the visual production here in Berlin is the excellent use of fire, water and lighting to provide some interesting and dramatic effects throughout the performance, although curiously where flame is specifically mentioned in the first act when there should be clearly evident festive fires, these are barely visible. They are well towards the back of the stage and almost blocked from view by the chorus massed towards the front of the stage.

Amongst the smaller roles, Stephan Rugamer is particularly good as Cassio both vocally and dramatically. He establishes his character and presence from the outset and he has a beautiful lyric tenor voice. He also looks the part too which is a major bonus and he can carry off the comedy which he has been given by the director rather more effectively than the other principals. Kwangchul Youn has an excellent bass voice as the Venetian envoy Lodovico and makes a more imposing figure than is often the case in this role.

The Staatskapelle Berlin is conducted by Daniel Barenboim and the music is played extremely well and does provide a lot of the drama which is often missing or diminished in the on-stage performances. In the first two acts the drama is more often portrayed by the set, lighting and orchestra than by the performers. The drama of the opening storm is entirely down to the lighting and the orchestral and choral music. The acting is dreadfully dull, there is no sense at all of the deadly peril faced by Otello's ship. Then when Otello appears having been rescued from the storm he merely strolls onto the area in front of the orchestra with no sign of distress or exultation or any indication at all that he has just escaped from mortal danger. The act one fight scene is also particularly poorly portrayed by the cast, there is absolutely no sense of the alarm that would require Otello to return to quell the riot, this is only conveyed by the music. The quality of the orchestral playing is excellent throughout the performance and this is one of the major positive aspects of this production. The Staatsoper Chorus sing extremely well and their lack of effective acting in many places is clearly down to the poor direction rather than their acting abilities. They are often asked to do rather silly things that are clearly meant to portray the cruise ship setting rather than to properly relate to the action of the real story. One of the silliest things is the dancing nun.

The picture format is 1 : 1.78 widescreen. The soundtracks are only available in either PCM stereo or Dolby digital 5.1. There is no DTS soundtrack. The copy I received is a region code 0 NTSC DVD. There are optional subtitles in Italian, French, English, Spanish and Japanese. The running time is 157 minutes and there are no extras.