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Otello at Teatro La Fenice (Photo: Michele Crosera)

The wow factor is off the scale in Fabio Ceresa’s dazzling Zefferelli-esque production of Verdi’s Otello with Massimo Checchetto’s ornate sets and Claudia Pernigotti’s elegant costumes gilded to within an inch of their lives. And with the Fenice orchestra under the assured baton of Myung-Whun Chung wielding such force, the music is a dynamic character in its own right - matching note for emotional note the inner turmoil of the main characters. 

It might sound over the top, but Ceresa’s over-embellishment of the opera’s extreme elements align with the ambitions of a composer at the height of his powers whose setting of Arrigo Boito’s inspired libretto adds another dimension to Shakespeare’s gripping tale of jealousy and destruction.  

Although the action is set on the island of Cyprus, it is the capital of the Venetian Republic that dominates this production’s visual style. There are many representations of Venice’s mythological symbol – a winged lion – including a dancer who prowls the stage stalking Otello, Jago and Desdemona. Then there are the golden bejewelled triple arches that echo St Mark’s basilica offering tantalising glimpses of blue seas and starlit skies.

Otello at Teatro La Fenice (Photo: Ufficio stampa)

Many of the tableaux are reminiscent of Giotto frescoes while the shapeshifting mosaics in Sergio Metalli’s subtle video designs are visually effective as well as being closely linked to the mental state of the characters. For instance when Otello’s rage reaches such a fever pitch and he decides to kill his wife, Desdemona, the bricks melt from his palace walls.

The Fenice chorus is another large force who not only sing lustily but form much of the action, even transforming themselves into writhing seas in the opening scenes. Choreographer Mattia Agatiello also works her magic on a group of dancers who embody the snake like arms of the multi-headed hydra that represent Jago’s rage as they slither into every nook and cranny.

Francesco Meli and Karah Sun (Photo: Michele Crosera)

There were strong dramatic, if not always vocally refined, performances from the main singers. Francesco Meli had plenty of stamina for the demanding title role while Luca Micheletti’s rough-edged baritone made for a suitably sinister and manipulative Jago.

But while Karah Sun’s Desdemona was aptly chaste and feisty when it came to fighting for her life, tonally she was better when quieter in the lower registers, such as in her death scene. This was well-choreographed as the singers and the orchestra took the temperature down to deliver an extremely moving denouement.

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