Herbert von Karajan directed this film of Verdi’s Shakespearan masterpiece as well as conducting the Berlin Philharmonic. As the tragic Moor of Venice, arguably his greatest role, John Vickers (in the words of critic David Cairns) "commands both the notes and the moral grandeur of the part. … And he has the aura of greatness – greatness of heart, of bearing, of musical and dramatic conception". Mirella Freni is a heartbreakingly lovely and fragile Desdemona, while the fine English baritone Peter Glossop plays the villainous Jago.
Acting
Vickers' Otello: terrifying tenderness, then pure volcanic rage.
Direction
Karajan treats the orchestra as another character—listen to the jealousy.
Production
Stripped-back staging lets three voices demolish an empire.
Director
Roger Benamou
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Vickers famously hated performing Otello—said it 'took pieces of his soul' each time. You can hear it.
This 1973 film preserved a production Karajan had refined since 1967, with the same core cast—rare operatic continuity.
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![Simon Boccanegra [The Metropolitan Opera] movie poster (2010)](https://image.themoviebrowser.com/movie/1185767/poster.webp)
