I watched the wonderful Metropolitan Opera’s production of Othello on October 14th, a week later than when everyone else watched it, due to religious reasons. Watching Othello later than everyone else, perhaps, had a greater impact on me. I was excited to see the opera because I actually had no homework for that night, so I went with a fresh and optimistic mind. I am also a performing arts person; I play many instruments and I love acting. This opera consisted of a large orchestra and many opera vocalists ranging from basses to sopranos, and so I was particularly interested and eager to watch this opera.
Arriving at Lincoln Center about 20 minutes early was probably the best decision I have made in a while. I experienced an entire community working together to make this presentation possible. Erudite men and women surrounded me left and right. Scholars, educators, and critics came to watch the very same opera. People were dressed in bowties and flamboyant suits, which added a sense of importance and unity in the diversified and interested community. Although I am used to the style and rhythm of the pre-performance control and attitude, since I’ve acted in many performances, musicals, and plays, and have experienced the backstage life, there was still something special in this specific opera because of the layout of the security intertwined with the entrance, which included many doors and a large range of space for people to walk in. In addition, the stairs were closer to the glass windows, which created a beautiful notion of connection of the people inside looking out of the building with the people outside entering the building. It was an overwhelming experience even before the opera itself.
Our seats were on the balcony level, which has an impact on me as well. The view on the top blurs out all the small details that a person would otherwise realize if s/he were to be sitting in the front. This is important because it made me focus on the overall and big picture, which was the consecutive scenes themselves with their respective plots the intrinsic value of the music. I found myself closing my eyes repeatedly throughout the opera to concentrate solely on the wonderful sound of the music. The orchestra, consisting of string, wind, and percussion instruments, so accurately accompanied the actors and actresses singing on stage. Every nuance of every vibrato sung had its own harmonic and melodic accompaniment. There was a unique harmonic rhythm to the various rates and extents of each vibrato. I keenly realized that the trills played by the orchestra had an effect on the singing. Trills followed certain impactful vibratos and introduced certain vibrant vibratos. In comparison, slow and dramatic sounds produced by the orchestra introduced scenes containing some sort of drama, such as disappointment, injury, and death. The master behind the scenes, the conductor, brilliantly lead the orchestra and the precise timing for each scene. Speaking about timing, every pluck to every strum to every pizzicato strictly followed a manual of accurate progressions, from fortissimo to pianissimo and back to forte. Bows were lifted simultaneously, while fingers covered the same holes on the clarinets, collectively. Even the dance techniques and object placements on stage synchronized with the music being played. The orchestra was and always will be the most integral and vital part of every production and performance.
Antonio, a white character in this production, was the main character. His intense and persuasive tone in his singing brought out his dominant personality and governing over Cyprus. The production began with a small interlude by the orchestra and proceeded with flashing entrance of Othello into the scene surrounded by the citizens of Cyprus. The scenes moved quickly and portrayed the main points of every act. I was able to figure out what was going on in the plot even without the English subtitles, although they were very helpful throughout the production. My favorite parts of the entire production were when the different characters called each other. When I heard “Otello,” “Desdemona,” or “Cassio,” I was moved because those names were sometimes sung in a harsh tone like when Othello was eager about the death of “Cassssio…” The singing of these names enticed me into the play, even though it was in Italian. The most intelligent part of the production was when the tables and benches were dragged out on stage along with the ‘houses’ which set the civilized and catastrophic scene of Cassio becoming drunk and injuring Roderigo. Finally, the most inspiring moments in the play were when the cast, or background singers, repeated certain phrases that the main characters said. The harmony in the voices and the dynamic nuances of the section as a whole created an inspiring feeling of love, sympathy, and compassion for certain characters like Othello and Iago, not to mention there were no microphones attached to the performers.
There are two transparent screens, or curtains, covering the stage. The first covering is not as translucent as the second. Besides the fact, the screens were covering the stage at the time the performers came out, and I thought what I was seeing, ocean waves all over stage, was the actual setting of the scene. I was angered because the view wasn’t so clear. However, after a minute of the orchestra producing some pure sounds, the outer screen uncovered, and then the inner screen uncovered, giving me a feeling of relief and gratefulness that now everything was clear and I had the ability to observe a beautiful setup. From the balcony, I was able to see every adequate transport of props on stage, like the houses, the bed, and the tables. Everything was in sync and integrated intelligently into the mood of the acts. I enjoyed myself that night and loved the entire performance, especially because I was able to relate to few of the parts throughout the performance after we have watched them on YouTube in class and to the entire experience, which was familiar to me. Above all that, the landscape outside of Lincoln Center completed my experience, which at that moment switched from amazing to inspiring and motivating. I am looking forward for more!
I like how you note that the opera house is part of the experience – as a social space with an elegant interior design and people dressed up for the evening, but also as an acoustic space which allows for a natural experience of the music without electronic modification. The conductor, the 40-year-old Yannick Nézet-Séguin, is young (as far as conductors go), but has become such a local favorite that he’s a candidate to be the next Music Director of the Met (The current Music Director, James Levine, still conducts, but has been in bad health for the past few years.) I enjoyed hearing what Nézet-Séguin did while leading the Met orchestra, but there are also a number of effects written into Verdi’s score that are best experienced in a live performance. For example, there’s the scene in Act 2 when the Cypriots are praising Desdemona; there’s an adult chorus, a children’s chorus, the singing soloists, mandolin-players on stage, and the orchestra in the pit – each of these has a distinctive sound, even when they’re overlapping. The different combination of sounds at a moment like this can’t fully be captured in a recording.