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Otello
Metropolitan Opera House, Wed, January 5, 1949
Otello (97)
Giuseppe Verdi | Arrigo Boito
- Otello
- Ramon Vinay
- Desdemona
- Licia Albanese
- Iago
- Leonard Warren
- Emilia
- Martha Lipton
- Cassio
- John Garris
- Lodovico
- Nicola Moscona
- Mont?no
- Kenneth Schon
- Roderigo
- Thomas Hayward
- Herald
- Philip Kinsman
- Conductor
- Fritz Busch
Review 1:
Review of James Hinton Jr. in Musical America
This third repetition of the opera that had opened the season found things somewhat changed for the better. The cast, except for Kenneth Schon, who sang his first Montano of the season, was the same as on [first] night; but all the principals had improved on their earlier performances. Fritz Busch again conducted, and while keeping his forces firmly in hand, allowed the music to breathe more freely than before.
Ramon Vinay's Otello, while it is far from being a perfect stage portrait, had become considerably more impressive both vocally and dramatically. Mr. Vinay now uses his body with considerably more skill than be did, and while his movements are not particularly imaginative, they project opposite emotional reactions almost as well as his facial expressions do to those members of the audience who are close enough to the stage to see them. Vocally, his performance is still hampered by a tendency to shout rather than sing, in the more dramatic moments he tended to force his voice out of focus; but when these difficulties did not beset him he was often really impressive.
Leonard Warren, as Iago, again did his best singing in Era la notte, and elsewhere his singing was lighter and clearer in definition than it had been. However, his conception of the subtleties of Iago's character was still badly underdeveloped. As Desdemona, Licia Albanese sang accurately, and while her lower voice still lacked sufficient body for the music, she modified her approach to the Ave Maria, singing it quite softly and with attractive tone.
John Garris was again an excellent Cassio, and Martha Lipton was a charming Emilia. The chorus, as in previous performances, sang extremely well.
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