Yes… my friends, yes — another Otello! Yet another Otello!
After Parma, Madrid, and Strasbourg — while waiting for Catania and Liège — I went back to see Otello once again in Prague, in the very same theater, with the same production and the same staging I had seen a year ago.
My motivation to go again? A beautiful production — and an Otello sung by the fascinating and passionate Denys Pivnitskyi! So yes, I had every reason in the world to come back for another round of Verdi’s greatest masterpiece.
The evening started with a race against time — my plane landed in Prague at 5:50 PM, just 70 minutes before curtain time. Seventy minutes of stress in Prague’s traffic, praying not to miss the opening and, even less, the thunderous “Esultate!” that erupts only five minutes after the first note.
I finally made it to my box (No. 3, first floor) just three minutes before the doors closed. The night could finally begin — and without a hitch!
And oh, what a good thing I didn’t miss that “Esultate!” What a thrill to see Ukrainian tenor Denys Pivnitskyi again — who, by the way, had just done Otello in Prague on Tuesday, Cavalleria Rusticana in Copenhagen on Wednesday, Manon Lescaut back in Prague on Thursday… and Otello again tonight!
Otello remains one of the most demanding roles to perform — vocally, emotionally, dramatically. Verdi gave the tenor an enormous playground to express himself, and Denys — the sixth youngest singer ever to perform Otello (thank you for that fun fact) — made full use of it.
Opposite him was Olga Busuioc, a Desdemona full of tears — fragile and tender, carrying the weight of the world through her Ave Maria. You could feel the exact moment she realized her fate was sealed — without a doubt, in Act II. It was a beautiful interpretation, and the audience responded warmly. The conductor (thankfully!) didn’t allow applause right after her aria — saving it for the curtain calls — and that restraint made the moment even more powerful.
Otello is a cruel opera for singers’ egos but an incredibly intense experience for the audience, who never get a chance to breathe between scenes. That’s part of what makes it so powerful — an unbroken chain of emotion and drama.
A very special mention to Mikolas Zalasinski, who has clearly refined his interpretation since the last time I saw him in this same role a year ago. He fits Iago’s skin perfectly — especially in the final seconds, when, after Otello’s death, he slowly approaches the two bodies with a flaming hand. That final image — absolutely brilliant — makes the closing bars of the score unforgettable. I don’t think I’d ever seen something quite like that before. A stroke of genius from stage director Martin Čičvák!
The supporting cast was also excellent — every “henchman” role solid and credible. The overall vocal balance worked perfectly. Conductor Hermann Bäumer led a positive and cohesive performance, even if the brass section had an off night.
But overall, the evening was absolutely a success — when you combine intelligent staging, elegant costumes, strong voices, and Verdi’s genius, it can only be a winning night from start to finish.
My friends, take note — Otello will be back at the Prague State Opera for the 2026/27 season, and I can only encourage you to spend a weekend there to experience it for yourself. It’s one of the most powerful ways to discover — or rediscover — the greatest opera ever written.
Viva Otello, and Viva Verdi!
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CAST
Otello – Denys Pivnitskyi
Desdemona – Olga Busuioc
Iago – Mikolaj Zalasinski
Emilia – Katerina Jalovcova
Cassio – Martin Srejma
Rodrigo – Josef Moravec
Lodovico – Oleg Korotkov
Montano – Jan Hnyk
Herald – Martin Kreuz
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Condutor – Hermann Bäumer
Stage director – Martin Cicvak
