Two weeks after my Otello in Prague, you would think the excitement would calm down… but no. I arrived in Catania as thrilled as if I were seeing Otello for the first time in my life. And honestly, how could I not be? This production — the one originally created by Allex Aguilera, was in my Top 3 stagings of last year when I saw it in Rome with Gregory Kunde. So returning to it, this time in Sicily, felt like revisiting an old friend.

What I still can’t wrap my head around is the following:
When I bought my tickets back in January 2025 (and thank you to the box office for opening so early — I bought seats for three evenings in a row — Friday, Saturday, and Sunday!), Allex Aguilera was clearly listed as the stage director. Yet by the time the show opened, his name had disappeared, even though his set, his concept, and his visual identity were still entirely there, but While last night all the director’s sets were there, but a lot of things were missing, a fire made with lights, an empty well, missing curtains, as if we had taken the best thing from Amazon, but in TEMU version.. I don’t know what happened between him and the theatre, but removing his credit feels profoundly unfair. His fingerprints are on every corner of this production.

Anyway. Let’s talk about the show.

The evening started with a beautiful surprise:
Giancarlo Del Monaco — yes, the son of the greatest Otello that ever lived, Mario Del Monaco — came on stage to receive an award. For someone like me, who worships Mario Del Monaco in this role, this was a genuinely emotional moment. Hearing Otello in the house where Del Monaco Jr. was being honored? Magic.

And then came the second surprise, and this one I will never forget in my life.

For the very first time ever, in all my years as an opera addict…
I finally heard the Otello ballet music LIVE.
I’ve listened to it endlessly on vinyl, joked about it with friends because I never get to hear it in real life — and suddenly, there it was. I didn’t even know it was coming. When the orchestra started… goosebumps everywhere. A dream finally checked off the list.

But the rest of the evening?
Let’s say it was a firework in a cloudy sky — moments of pure beauty, mixed with moments of absolute disaster.

The unforgettable moments

Gregory Kunde. What can I say that I haven’t already said? For me, he’s still the Otello of today, the most complete on stage, the most Italian of the Americans, the man who moved from Rossini to Verdi like a king. Putting Kunde in this production is like putting Zidane in a team where a few players are excellent… and the rest look like amateurs.

Franco Vassallo delivered a solid Iago — exactly what you expect from him.

A great performance also for the “little” role, like Ivan Tanushi or Paolo Antognetti, even if Otello is a story of 3 characters, like Tosca, the importance of Cassio or Lodovico is really necessary to have a big and great ensemble.

The difficult parts…

Well, here’s where it gets complicated.
Opera Diary is not about trashing artists — I always prefer to highlight the positive, to make people want to go to the opera. So I won’t go into details about Desdemona. Let’s just say it wasn’t very good. Too many wrong notes, weak projection, and zero chemistry in duets. It happens.

But what was truly painful was the lack of coordination:

• Men’s chorus out of sync
• Women’s chorus out of sync
• Children’s chorus out of sync
• Orchestra out of sync
• And the conductor so hesitant and so slow… my god. I have never heard an Otello dragged out like this. At Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera, Daniel Oren gave us fire and electricity. Last night felt like wading through glue.

And then comes the part that breaks my heart as someone who loves Italian theatres:

The Teatro Bellini audience and staff

I have never experienced anything like this in Italy:

Staff chatting loudly in the corridors during the performance

A cold, unfriendly welcome

A public that talked, filmed, texted with full brightness like they were at a football match

And when I mentioned it politely at intermission, the staff literally told me:
“Everyone is free to do as they want.”

No words.

I’m writing the Italian version below so the Teatro Bellini can read it if they ever come across this review.

Pubblico e personale del Teatro Bellini

Non ho mai visto niente di simile in Italia:

Personale che chiacchierava ad alta voce nei corridoi durante lo spettacolo

Un’accoglienza fredda e ostile

Un pubblico che parlava, filmava, mandava messaggi con la massima allegria come se fosse a una partita di calcio

E quando l’ho detto educatamente durante l’intervallo, il personale mi ha letteralmente detto:
“Ognuno è libero di fare ciò che vuole”.

Final thoughts

Despite everything, it was still a special evening. Otello is Otello — even on a bad day, it remains the most powerful opera ever written. And seeing Gregory Kunde again was worth every kilometer.

Tonight I’ll see the second cast.
Tomorrow I’ll see Kunde again.
And on Sunday, I’ll fly back home to Switzerland with my heart full of Verdi, as always.

Viva Otello, Viva Verdi, Viva Sicilia.

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CAST

Otello – Gregory Kunde
Desdemona – Lana Kos
Iago – Franco Vassallo
Cassio – Paolo Antognetti
Roderigo – Ivan Tanushi
Lodovico – Luca Dall’Amico
Montano – Fabrizio Brancaccio
Un araldo – Luciano Leoni
Emilia – Anna Malavasi