Conductor to flit between Rossini’s Otello and Verdi’s

Oper Frankfurt has asked Sesto Quatrini to take charge of both Otellos in the coming weeks – Rossini’s on May 17, 19, 26, 31 and June 8, 15 ; and Verdi’s on June 22, 30 and July 4, 7, 10, 12.

Quatrini says: ‘It will be enthralling to take on the challenge of two such disparate scores, with such diverse musical languages and approaches to vocality, and two very different librettos, partly because they originated from different literary sources (Othello, ou le More de Venise by Jean-François Ducis for Rossini, and Shakespeare’s tragedy of the same name for Verdi). Basically, two operas which recount the same immortal, tragic events, but do so with different tempos, words, music, styles, theatrical and musical devices, methods, perspectives, even characters.’

The Georgian soprano Nino Machaidze will sing in both operas.