- In the opera Otello, various voices were utilized for different characters: tenor, baritone, soprano and bass. What I found interesting was how some characters’ voices changed in its intensity and strength throughout the opera. Other characters’ voices were stagnant. I felt that the voices that each performer carried conveyed certain ideas about that character to the audience.
- The performer that plays Othello had a tenor voice, the highest male voice. In the beginning of the play, although he becomes ruler of Cyprus, his voice didn’t strike me as powerful as his position. At first I was upset that he was lacking power in his voice because it didn’t match his position. Then I remembered that he was a foreigner and that his lacking voice lends to the idea that although he was the dictator, he still has insecurities because he is an outsider. His insecurities as a foreigner shined through his weak voice. However, in the second act, when Othello becomes angry over the assumption that Desdemona is cheating on him, his voice becomes stronger. He is suddenly directing all his energy towards this, and it is distinguishable in his changing voice. I think this symbolizes that Iago has gotten to his core, almost as if Iago is now a part of him. The Othello that we know is not the same in the second act and this is because he was poisoned by Iago.
- Iago on the other hand has a very powerful voice from the beginning. He uses the baritone, which is the deepest male voice. His bold voice perfectly fits his character. He is deceiving and extremely manipulative in his language. Although he isn’t the ruler of Cyprus like Othello, he definitely is a more powerful character. This strong and ugly character of his remains with him until the end of the opera, and so does his voice.
- The performer that plays Desdemona has a soprano voice, the highest of all the voices. Not only was her voice high pitched, but it was as smooth as butter as well. Her voice was pleasant to the ear and this represents her purity and innocence. Desdemona’s soprano voice is very necessary when she sings the “Willow” song before her death. The quality of her voice in this song provoked the sympathy that the audience felt as she sang.
