West Bay Opera – A Perfect Otello at the Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto

West Bay Opera performed Otello at the Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto between May 23, 2025 and June 1^st, 2025. The opera was first premiered at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Feb 5, 1887 and has been performed at West Bay Opera in 1969 and 2013.  This third production was spectacular, with amazing voices, a wonderful live orchestra led by Jose Luis Moscovich, costumes consistent with the time, settings and staging that told the story, and acting that captivated the audience.

The story takes place on the island of Cyprus during a storm. The Moorish general Otello returns home, victorious, to his young wife, Desdemona. At home, once again, he becomes ensnared in a diabolical plot designed by his ensign Iago, the very incarnation of evil, who will do anything to destroy his master. As the second act begins Iago tells the audience that he was born to be evil.

At its core, Otello presents a powerful portrayal of jealousy and its devastating consequences. However, the range of emotions within the story are immediately relatable, making this opera continually meaningful. With emotions expressed by the orchestra, Verdi moved Italian Opera toward the grandiosity of Wagnerian opera where emotions are strongly reflected in the orchestral music.

Otello came into being because the retired Verdi was persuaded to write it. After many other stories were offered to him, his love for Shakespeare prevailed. The writing took seven years. From an “Interlude” article

by Georg Predota  February 5th, 2022

Finally, on 1 November 1886 Verdi proclaimed, “Dear Boito, it is finished! All honour to us! (and to Him!) Otello premiered to resounding success at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887. Verdi took 20 curtain calls at the end of the opera, and the work soon appeared on all major European stages.”

Experiencing a West Bay Opera production is always a joy even when the opera is a tragedy. The sense of being a part of the action makes West Bay Opera performances unique and special.  The live orchestra under the baton of José Luis Moscovich was fully up to the demands of this opera and provided the powerful, emotional music so important.

The characters were perfectly cast. Robert Balonek as Iago was a smooth, sneaky convincing Iago with an amazing voice. Julia Behbudov as Desdemona tore our hearts out, conveying innocence and confusion as her voice beautifully and perfectly expressed her premonition and the reality of her situation. With his beautiful tenor John Kun Park as Otello moved through emotions ranging from tenderness to violence taking the audience with him. The chorus was outstanding and important in telling the story, predicting tragedy, sounding beautiful.

I loved the costumes and the lighting was very important but what caught my attention, especially was the way the props and projections blended, birds flying outdoors, curtains fluttering in the breeze and indoors, furniture.  The staging was perfect.

This performance featured General Director, José Luis Moscovich conducting and Richard Harrell stage-directing Otello. The casting was outstanding, headlined by tenor John Kun Park in the title role, soprano Julia Behbudov as Desdemona, and bass-baritone Robert Balonek as Iago. Tenor Tom Mulder sang Cassio, bass-baritone Isaiah Musik-Ayala was Ludovico. Mezzo-soprano Laure de Marcellus sang Emilia. Rounding out the cast was tenor Carmello Tringali as Roderigo and bass-baritone Daniel Morris as Montano.

Sets and projected images were created by Peter Crompton, with costumes by Callie Floor. Lighting design was by Danielle Ferguson; props design by Shirley Benson; projection systems design by Frederic Boulay and sound design by Giselle Lee.

Photos are by Natalya Polyakova.

Watch for the upcoming season, West Bay’s 70th, which will include:

Samson & Dalila by Camille SaintSaens

Salome by Richard Strauss

Tosca by Giacomo Puccini