`Otello,’ Rossini’s not Verdi’s, staged in Philadelphia

By RONALD BLUM
Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Rossini’s “Otello” premiered in 1816, and the musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s famous play was a hit for seven decades. Then Verdi’s version debuted in 1887 and was acclaimed as a pinnacle of the art form, causing Rossini’s to recede into a rarity. Opera Philadelphia excavated at the Academy of Music for its O22 festival in a showcase for tenor Lawrence Brownlee, the company’s artistic adviser. It is difficult to cast, with three tenor roles. Brownlee was Rodrigo, Khanyiso Gwenxane was Otello in his U.S. debut and Alek Shrader was Iago. The last major U.S. production of the Rossini version had been at the San Francisco Opera in 1994.