Considered by many to be one of his greatest works, Otello is Giuseppe Verdi’s acclaimed adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello.

The Moorish general Otello has been appointed Governor of Cyprus and married the beautiful young Venetian, Desdemona. But their happiness is threatened when Otello’s ensign Iago begins to hint that Desdemona has been unfaithful.

The subtlety and range of Otello’s score, combined with Arrigo Boito’s superb libretto, captures Shakespeare’s poetry, while the opera’s tightly wrought narrative displays all Verdi’s talents as a music dramatist.

Elijah Moshinsky’s masterly production, which was created in 1987 with Plácido Domingo in the title role, uses Renaissance designs to capture an atmosphere of opulence and evil in which the tragedy is played out.

Otello is sung in Italian with English surtitles

Learn more about London operas within the West End.