Giuseppe Verdi – Otello (2015) Blu-ray

Johan Botha (Otello), Renee Fleming (Desdemona), Falk Struckmann (Iago) & Michael Fabiano (Cassio), Renee Tatum (Emilia), James Morris (Lodovico), Eduardo Valdes (Roderigo), The Metropolitan Opera, Chorus & Ballet

Verdi’s late masterpiece is presented in Elijah Moshinsky’s Met production with sumptuous sets and period costumes. Semuon Bychkov conducts an all-star cast led by South African Heldentenor Johan Botha in the title role with a voice of "impressive size and bronze color" (New Yor? Times). Renee Fleming’s Desdemona enshrines one of her signature roles in a definitive performance: "she knows exactly how to spin the gentle lines of the ‘Willow Song’ and ‘Ave Maria’ so that they softly fill the hall" (New Yor? Times) A strong supporting cast includes the superb Falk Struckmann as lago and star tenor Michael Fabiano as Cassio