Otello review – a truly compelling and long overdue revival

Royal Opera House, London
American tenor Russell Thomas – the first black man to sing the title role at Covent Garden – delivers a searing and shattering performance

For a moment, if you can, put aside the fact that, after 234 previous performances of this opera at Covent Garden, here was a milestone night of a sort, the first time that a black man has sung the title role in Verdi’s Otello on the Royal Opera House stage. Instead, judging this latest version of Keith Warner’s 2017 production squarely on its artistic merits, note also that this is a truly compelling revival.

Five years ago, Warner’s crepuscular staging disappointed some of the high expectations that surrounded Jonas Kaufmann’s debut in the role. Now, revived by Isabelle Kettle and conducted by Daniele Rustioni, the production hits its stride more surely, in a psychologically gripping triangle of jealousy that is elevated by the American tenor Russell Thomas’s at times almost elemental incarnation of the notoriously demanding title role.

Otello is at the Royal Opera House until 24 July.

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