Rating: 
Summary: a clear winner
Review: Placido Domingo is rightly considered a reigning Otello of the late 20-th century. He has the voice, the looks, and the acting ability to bring the tormented warrior to life.
I have to recommend this full opera house version over the celebrated film version. The main reason for it is that the latter has several frustrating cuts, including the Willow song and Otello/Iago duet "Si per ciel".
The supporting cast is very impressive. Te Kanawa looks and sings an ideal Desdemona, even if she's not a mover and shaker in this role as Tebaldi in the past or Fleming currently. Speaking of Fleming, when will we finally see or hear the MET "Otello" with her, Domingo, and Morris, conducted by James Levine? It was broadcasted over the PBS, so I can't see why it can't be made commercially available.
The Russian baritone Sergei Leiferkus is an unusual Iago. His voice is light and "tenorial" so to speak. Thus, he sounds somewhat like Otello's darker alter ego, which is an interesting twist that makes a story more believable.
Solti, of course, provides a marvelous, brilliant sound, and the chorus work is very good. The picture quality is almost perfect.
Don't hesitate; this is an "Otello" to treasure.
Rating: 
Summary: A Fine Performance
Review: Shakespeare lovers should really become acquainted with the Verdi/Boito masterpiece. The drama has been not reduced but compacted to its essentials and recast in musical terms ... quite a feat of musical and literary genius. I have seen and heard excellent Otellos, Mr. Domingo's certainly the best around today. It is destined to join Martinelli, Vinay, Vickers and (arguably) del Monaco in the top rank of Otello's in the twentieth century. Each one brought individual qualities to the part and made the role their own in their time. My personal favorite has been Vickers .... for passion, musicality and heartbreak; the timbre of the voice and his ability to inflect it, seem to me qualities particularly suited to deepen this essentially introverted role. Domingo is very good here, arguably better than in any other of his videos. Leiferkus is an excellent and most musical Iago .... a true believer in his creed. Solti conducts very well but does not reach the heights of others in this opera. Te Kanawa is in gorgeous voice, but throughout her career to this day she remains one of the most boring singers on the operatic stage. The voice is pretty but uninteresting, she follows her stage blockings correctly but, as Desdemona, not for a minute did she portray the incomprehension, anguish and final sense of injustice of the cataclism falling upon her. Dame Kiri for me is an excellent vocalist with a beautiful voice but not much of a vibrant opera singer. For Domingo and as a record of a fine live performance of Otello, this DVD is well worth the purchase. As a great performance of the opera it doesn't make it.
Rating:
Summary: Otello Supreme
Review: There are so many wonderful facets to this version of Verdi's Otello, and once you see it there will be no doubt in your mind that it's easily the best production out.
First, the cast. Placido Domingo was THE Otello of the last thirty years or so, and he shows it here. He has the age and experience to be Otello, but his voice seems to not have gotten the memo---his high notes ring with clarity, and his low range is just as secure. Kiri Te Kanawa as Desdemona isn't the monumental Verdi role that you'll see in some of his other operas, but she holds her own and provides some intense moments with Domingo and complements him in their duets. Sergei Leiferkus (as you can see from the other reviews) is somewhat of an offbeat Iago, but by no means inferior to any of the other recordings on DVD. He has somewhat lyric qualities to his baritone, which most won't want to see in Iago, but his voice is at the same time clear, powerful, strong, and convincing as the villain. All three act superbly, especially Leiferkus, who although at first glance most wouldn't pick as their Iago of choice, has become mine after watching this production only twice. They blend well on stage, know when to recede and let the more important character shine, and carry the opera on their backs---all things difficult to find on the operatic stage.
Even the less often seen characters in this opera shine; namely Georg Solti, the ROH Orchestra, the production crew, and the transfering job. Solti generally keeps in stride and status quo with his tempi, and lets the principles guide him when he knows they are "feeling it." He lets himself be known, but doesn't force the issue. The sets are generally traditional, and the camera shots are never eerily unneccessary (i.e., some Bayreuthe productions). The best part is the tranfer from video to DVD, though---this could easily be the best musical recording of the opera as well if you wanted to simply close your eyes.
Solti, Domingo, Te Kanawa, Leiferkus, Covent Garden. Amazing acting, wonderful staging, wonderful sound and a quiet audience. What more could you ask for?
Rating:
Summary: The Best Otello on DVD
Review: There are so many wonderful facets to this version of Verdi's Otello, and once you see it there will be no doubt in your mind that it's easily the best production out. First, the cast. Placido Domingo was THE Otello of the last thirty years or so, and he shows it here. He has the age and experience to be Otello, but his voice seems to not have gotten the memo---his high notes ring with clarity, and his low range is just as secure. Kiri Te Kanawa as Desdemona isn't the monumental Verdi role that you'll see in some of his other operas, but she holds her own and provides some intense moments with Domingo and complements him in their duets. Sergei Leiferkus (as you can see from the other reviews) is somewhat of an offbeat Iago, but by no means inferior to any of the other recordings on DVD. He has somewhat lyric qualities to his baritone, which most won't want to see in Iago, but his voice is at the same time clear, powerful, strong, and convincing as the villain. All three act superbly, especially Leiferkus, who although at first glance most wouldn't pick as their Iago of choice, has become mine after watching this production only twice. They blend well on stage, know when to recede and let the more important character shine, and carry the opera on their backs---all things difficult to find on the operatic stage. Even the less often seen characters in this opera shine; namely Georg Solti, the ROH Orchestra, the production crew, and the transfering job. Solti generally keeps in stride and status quo with his tempi, and lets the principles guide him when he knows they are "feeling it." He lets himself be known, but doesn't force the issue. The sets are generally traditional, and the camera shots are never eerily unneccessary (i.e., some Bayreuthe productions). The best part is the tranfer from video to DVD, though---this could easily be the best musical recording of the opera as well if you wanted to simply close your eyes. Solti, Domingo, Te Kanawa, Leiferkus, Covent Garden. Amazing acting, wonderful staging, wonderful sound and a quiet audience. What more could you ask for?
Rating:
Summary: extra!
Review: This "Otello" is a top performance with an incredible cast, recroded at the ROyal Opera Covent Garden with minimum couhing from the audiance and no applause cutting off the music(as usual in this opera house).
The cast is amazing.
Kiri Te Kanawa, even though pretty cold as an actress, sung beatifully and emotionally. Leiferkus was much criticised. A lot of reviewers called him a WEAK IAGO. Well, this is just not true. Yes, his voice is not very dark (yes he's not Gobbi) but Iago just isn't supposed to have this kind of dark voice. Verdi's writings have shown that he intended the Moor to be a very dark tenor (say a bariton with high thrilling notes) whereas his Iago, the man pushing him to his outrage should have a stronger character but not a darker voice. Toscanini's Otello (with Vinay in the title role) was always considered as THE reference, THE OTELLO recording. Well, what about IAGO in toscanini's recording? Giuseppe Valdengo (as IAGO) has a light voice with an extraordinary character and this is the Iago that Verdi most likely wanted. Now, going back to Leiferkus, his Iago in both singing and villain acting were wonderful. Domingo: The Otello! He certainly hasn't the power of Del Monaco or even the mixed power/passion of vickers but he is, no doubt one of the greatest Otello's. This DVD shows him in his greatness after years of intensive studies. After going deeply to the barytonal ugly tenor role in Zeffirelli's film, he's back as a great Otello tenor with amazing acting. This is all we ask for this role. Solti's conducting is very exciting as well. An overall GREAT PERFORMANCE....Highly Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: extra!
Review: This "Otello" is a top performance with an incredible cast, recroded at the ROyal Opera Covent Garden with minimum couhing from the audiance and no applause cutting off the music(as usual in this opera house).
The cast is amazing.
Kiri Te Kanawa, even though pretty cold as an actress, sung beatifully and emotionally. Leiferkus was much criticised. A lot of reviewers called him a WEAK IAGO. Well, this is just not true. Yes, his voice is not very dark (yes he's not Gobbi) but Iago just isn't supposed to have this kind of dark voice. Verdi's writings have shown that he intended the Moor to be a very dark tenor (say a bariton with high thrilling notes) whereas his Iago, the man pushing him to his outrage should have a stronger character but not a darker voice. Toscanini's Otello (with Vinay in the title role) was always considered as THE reference, THE OTELLO recording. Well, what about IAGO in toscanini's recording? Giuseppe Valdengo (as IAGO) has a light voice with an extraordinary character and this is the Iago that Verdi most likely wanted. Now, going back to Leiferkus, his Iago in both singing and villain acting were wonderful. Domingo: The Otello! He certainly hasn't the power of Del Monaco or even the mixed power/passion of vickers but he is, no doubt one of the greatest Otello's. This DVD shows him in his greatness after years of intensive studies. After going deeply to the barytonal ugly tenor role in Zeffirelli's film, he's back as a great Otello tenor with amazing acting. This is all we ask for this role. Solti's conducting is very exciting as well. An overall GREAT PERFORMANCE....Highly Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Splendid
Review: This is a rather traditional, if spare, presentation of Verdi's masterpiece with a superb cast. Domingo and Te Kanawa are at their peak and both sing and act magnificently. The real surprise for me was Leiferkus, whom I have seen in person in the past and have not enjoyed; here, however, he is absolutely marvelous. In short, you can't go wrong with this DVD, which should make a fine companion piece to the later film of Domingo and Fleming at the Met. And how poignant it is to see Lady Diana applauding from the audience during the curtain call.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Drama!!
Review: This is one of the all-time desert island opera films. It catches some of the best recent singers in top form, and in an ingenious production. Obviously, people knew this performance was going to be something special, since you can see royalty in the boxes of the Covent Garden Opera House. Placido Domingo has ruled Otello for about thirty years, and you couldn't ask for a better performance than he delivers here. He sings with the maturity only a man of his age could provide, but his voice sounds years younger than it really was. His acting and singing are positively Shakespearean. Desdemona is not nearly so deep a role but it is certainly a beautiful one, and Kiri Te Kanawa gives us some ravishing tones. She and Domingo obviously work well together and they make a wonderful stage couple here. Sergei Leiferkus is a controversial Iago here as elsewhere, but I've never had the slightest problem with him for these reasons: he's fabulously talented (listen to the perfectly executed runs in the drinking song), he makes his somewhat gritty voice sound appropriately villainous, and his acting is about ten times more nuanced than almost all other opera singers. Sir Georg Solti leads a typically explosive and dramatic orchestral performance; his dynamism is perfectly suited to this opera, and he shapes the quiet and beautiful phrases well too. All this takes place in the context of a very well-thought-out stage production, which is basically realistic but full of interesting touches which keep it from being at all mundane. Performances of this caliber are extremely rare, and we are lucky to have this committed to video (and DVD: I hope to replace my VHS soon). If you love opera, do yourself a treat and get this movie!
Rating:
Summary: the greatest Otello on DVD
Review: This is, and by far, the best Otello available on DVD. It is far superior to Karajan's with Vickers in the tiltle role and mainly technically where the movie's picture rarely follows the sound. Also, we have here a much better Iago (seguei Leiferkus) who is far superior to Glossop's Ugly Iago. Glossop is vulgar in both singing and acting. Leiferkus is far from being great. He overacts very often ("L'o vidi in man do Cassio" is desastrous)but is over all acceptable. However, the main reason for owning this version is Domingo's Otello. Arguably, he is the Best. He has a weaker voice than Del Monaco (that is not necessarily bad) and he has a smaller voice than Vickers but he surpasses them both in the understanding of the role and in showing vocally Otello's power, rage and jealousy. And, very objectively he has a much more beautiful voice than both his "rivals".
Also remember that this is a DVD and we have to confess that No one acts as good as Domingo... Solti's conducting is the other amazing feature and unlike Karajan there are no cut in the score. Te Kanawa's Desdemona makes finally the perfect cake for this version...
Rating:
Summary: Get this for Te Kanawa and Solti
Review: This live Covent Garden performance is a stellar event...Domingo, the most famous modern Otello, the sublime Te Kanawa, the evil Leiferkus and the brilliant fiery Solti all together for a memorable Gala evening of Great Verdi. In the title role, Domingo sings and acts well, but his Otello is so overly documented (two commercial recordings,the Maazel film and soundtrack, the famous Scala performance and pirate recordings from 1976...did I miss any?), that there really aren't any surprises. He's pretty much at his best here. Too bad there isn't a live Vickers or MacCracken performance for some balance... Te Kanawa looks and sings sublimely, and this is the true reason to get this tape.Though she has recorded extensively, there isn't a whole lot of her visually, and to catch her live in one of her best roles is a real treat. Leiferkus, much criticized for being too light weight may be more ideal for the part than he's given credit for. Much of the part is lyrical, with a high tessitura, meza voce in Era la notté, or a light and agile pizzacato in Questa é una ragna. Far too often we're hearing bassos doing baritone roles, and it's refreshing to hear a less heavy or power-house interpretation. The ever controversial Solti, assistant to Toscanini at Salzburg in the late 30's, conducts with the vigor of a man half his age. It's good to have a document of him conducting a live opera. Brian Large, to me vastly over-rated, directs with much attention to detail...so much that often the larger picture gets lost. Do we REALLY need an extensive close-up of Domingo's right eye and nostril as Desdemona lays dying? THis would be a case in point for multi-angles in DVD. All in all, a really good performance of some of the finer interpreters of Otello today. And don't go by a bored Diana's obligatory applause, this is truly a grand event!
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