Scene 2. This is the famous double scene. The stage setting is divided

into two floors. The upper floor represents the interior of the Temple of Vulcan, resplendent with light and gold; the lower floor a subterranean hall and long rows of arcades which are lost in the darkness. A colossal statue of Osiris, with the hands crossed, sustains the pilasters of the vault.

In the temple _Amneris_ and the priestesses kneel in prayer. And _Rhadames_? Immured in the dungeon and, as he thought, to perish alone, a form slowly takes shape in the darkness, and his own name, uttered by the tender accents of a familiar voice, falls upon his ear. It is _Aïda_. Anticipating the death to which he will be sentenced, she has secretly made her way into the dungeon before his trial and there hidden herself to find reunion with him in death. And so, while in the temple above them the unhappy _Amneris_ kneels and implores the gods to vouchsafe Heaven to him whose death she has compassed, _Rhadames_ and _Aïda_, blissful in their mutual sacrifice, await the end.

From "Celeste Aïda," _Rhadames's_ apostrophe to his beloved, with which the opera opens, to "O, terra, addio; addio, valle di pianti!" (Oh, earth, farewell! Farewell, vale of tears!),

[Music: O terra addio; addio valle di pianti]

which is the swan-song of _Rhadames_ and _Aïda_, united in death in the stone-sealed vault,--such is the tragic fate of love, as set forth in this beautiful and eloquent score by Giuseppe Verdi.

OTELLO

OTHELLO

Opera in four acts, by Verdi. Words by Arrigo Boïto, after Shakespeare. Produced, La Scala, Milan, February 5, 1887, with Tamagno (_Otello_), and Maurel (_Iago_). London, Lyceum Theatre, July 5, 1889. New York, Academy of Music, under management of Italo Campanini, April 16, 1888, with Marconi, Tetrazzini, Galassi, and Scalchi. (Later in the engagement Marconi was succeeded by Campanini.); Metropolitan Opera House, 1894, with Tamagno, Albani, Maurel; 1902, Alvarez, Eames, and Scotti; later with Slezak, Alda, and Scotti; Manhattan Opera House, with Zenatello, Melba, and Sammarco.

CHARACTERS

OTHELLO, a Moor, general in the army of Venice _Tenor_ IAGO, ancient to Othello _Baritone_ CASSIO, lieutenant to Othello _Tenor_ RODERIGO, a Venetian _Tenor_ LODOVICO, Venetian ambassador _Bass_ MONTANO, Othello's predecessor in the government of Cyprus _Bass_ A HERALD _Bass_ DESDEMONA, wife of Othello _Soprano_ EMILIA, wife of Iago _Mezzo-Soprano_

Soldiers and sailors of the Republic of Venice; men, women, and children of Venice and of Cyprus; heralds; soldiers of Greece, Dalmatia, and Albania; innkeeper and servants.

_Time_--End of fifteenth century.

_Place_--A port of the island of Cyprus.

Three years after the success of "Aïda," Verdi produced at Milan his "Manzoni Requiem"; but nearly sixteen years were to elapse between "Aïda" and his next work for the lyric stage. "Aïda," with its far richer instrumentation than that of any earlier work by Verdi, yet is in form an opera. "Otello" more nearly approaches a music-drama, but still is far from being one. It is only when Verdi is compared with his earlier self that he appears Wagnerian. Compared with Wagner, he remains characteristically Italian--true to himself, in fact, as genius should be.

Nowhere, perhaps, is this matter summed up as happily as in Baker's _Biographical Dictionary of Musicians_: "Undoubtedly influenced by his contemporaries Meyerbeer, Gounod, and Wagner in his treatment of the orchestra, Verdi's dramatic style nevertheless shows a natural and individual development, and has remained essentially Italian as an orchestral accompaniment of vocal melody; but his later instrumentation is far more careful in detail and luxuriant than that of the earlier Italian school, and his melody more passionate and poignant in expression."

"Otello" is a well-balanced score, composed to a libretto by a distinguished poet and musician--the composer of "Mefistofele." It has vocal melodies, which are rounded off and constitute separate "numbers" (to employ an expression commonly applied to operatic airs), and its recitatives are set to a well thought out instrumental accompaniment.

It is difficult to explain the comparative lack of success with the public of Verdi's last two scores for the lyric stage, "Otello" and "Falstaff." Musicians fully appreciate them. Indeed "Falstaff," which followed "Otello," is considered one of the greatest achievements in the history of opera. Yet it is rarely given, and even "Otello" has already reached the "revival" stage, while "Aïda," "Rigoletto," "La Traviata," and "Il Trovatore" are fixtures, although "Rigoletto" was composed thirty-six years before "Otello" and forty-two before "Falstaff." Can it be that critics (including myself) and professional musicians have been admiring the finished workmanship of Verdi's last two scores, while the public has discovered in them a halting inspiration, a too frequent substitution of miraculous skill for the old-time _flair_, and a lack of that careless but attractive occasional _laissez faire aller_ of genius, which no technical perfection can replace? Time alone can answer.

When "Otello" opens, _Desdemona_ has preceded her husband to Cyprus and is living in the castle overlooking the port. There are a few bars of introduction.