Otello

It took Verdi's publisher several months and repeated meetings to coax the composer out of retirement; it was only after meeting his librettist, Arrigo Boito, that Verdi finally gave in and agreed to compose Otello. The work was an immediate success and has remained so since; it is one of the pinnacles of Western music, with vocal writing that nearly all singers aspire to, from the dark intensity of the conniving Iago, to the brooding and enraged Otello, to the loving and tender Desdemona. The final act is a non-stop flow of music wedded to drama, showing the composer in full control of his art.