Elijah Moshinsky’s classic production of Verdi’s Otello for The Royal Opera is always welcomed by audiences for its strong, period imagery and direct emotional focus. This well-known and well-loved opera also attracts some of today’s great performers, drawn to the passion of the familiar Shakespeare story and the richness of Verdi’s music. Under Antonio Pappano, Music Director of The Royal Opera, the deadly triangle of Desdemona, Otello and Iago is wonderfully cast. Anja Harteros appears here for the fi rst time as the fatally misjudged wife, and Aleksandrs Antonenko and Lucio Gallo are already familiar this Season from their appearances in Il trittico. This is a Verdi masterpiece and one of the great works of the opera repertory with large forces beautifully crafted: striking choruses from the very start of the piece, arresting ensembles and scenes of haunting intimacy. Such famous solos as Iago’s Credo, Desdemona’s Willow Song and Otello’s descent from jealous despair to overwhelming rage in Act III have established Otello as one of the perfect pairings of music and drama you can experience.