A Brand new staging

Presented by Opera Philadelphia for the first time, Gioachino Rossini's Otello comes to the Academy of Music stage this fall in this stylish, 1920s set production from Spanish director Emilio Sagi. Rarely performed in favor of Verdi's later version of the Shakespearean tale, Rossini's Otello is a masterpiece of bel canto and is full of beauty and poignancy, highlighted by Sagi's Gilded Age reimagining.

What is the story?

The beautiful daughter of an influential Senator, Desdemona defies her father's choice of husband and marries Otello, a veteran soldier. But their happiness is interrupted by Otello's envious Ensign Iago. His unrequited love for Desdemona and seething jealousy leads him to tell Otello that she is unfaithful, setting off a flame of rage inside Otello that fuels a famous, tragic ending.