Less is Moor

A powerful tale of passion, jealousy, and murder, Shakespeare's Othello has inspired artists from Rossini to Orson Welles. Yet few could match Giuseppe Verdi and his 1887 opera "Otello," which features one of the most colossal tenor roles in operatic history: a complex and tormented characterization fully the equal of Shakespeare's tragic hero. Arun Rath, Senior Producer of NPR's On the Media, joins us to discuss how Verdi found opera in a great play. Also: what do you make of an opera that features film interludes and is billed as "Wozzeck-Meets-La Femme Nikita"? That's the premise behind "Buwalsky, a Road Opera," the latest outing by the enterprising Nine Circles Chamber Theater. We get a preview from librettist Jonathan Levi and composer Mel Marvin.
Additional Resources:

» Nine Circles Chamber Theater Web site
» Verdi's Otello at the Metropolitan Opera
» Shakespeare's Othello at the Brooklyn Academy of Music