[Met Performance] CID:210110
Otello {176} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/14/1967.
(Review)
Metropolitan Opera House
April 14, 1967
OTELLO {176}
Giuseppe Verdi--Arrigo Boito
Otello..................Jon Vickers
Desdemona...............Gabriella Tucci
Iago....................Gabriel Bacquier
Emilia..................Nancy Williams
Cassio..................Ermanno Lorenzi
Lodovico................Raymond Michalski
Montàno.................Clifford Harvuot
Roderigo................Andrea Velis
Herald..................Russell Christopher
Conductor...............Zubin Mehta
Review of Conrad L. Osborne in the Financial Times (UK)
Continuation of his report from New York (See "Otello" March 7, 1967)
The second cast afforded a more interesting evening, one reason being that Mr. Mehta had by this time settled into the score somewhat, and was beginning to give it shape and pace. He is, potentially, a great opera conductor; one only wishes that his on-the-job-training could be undertaken at something less than Metropolitan prices. This cast (Gabriella Tucci, Jon Vickers, Gabriel Bacquier) worked much more as a unit than the first; there were interactions and relationships, so that a reasonable portion of the drama surfaced. It was especially refreshing to see a logical continuity between Otello and Desdemona. Tucci and Vickers departed from the production's blocking and improved upon it substantially.
Miss Tucci sang strongly and warmly, and was in every respect an improvement on her predecessor. Mr. Vickers, taking this role for the first time here, did some interesting things, but left the impression that Otello is not a congenial assignment for him. His singing was overcareful and unexciting, relying too heavily on
heady mezza-voce, and while his acting was controlled and intelligent (a special emphasis on Otello's efforts to compensate for inferiority feelings by being a Big Man), it only occasionally seemed spontaneous. Mr. Bacquier's Iago was a thoughtful, inventive characterization, supported by solid, dark-coloured singing. He is a superior artist.