Esterrefatta fisso

Please click for more information and analysis. For non commercial educational purposes. Please message me if there is a problem with this video.

Live Met Oct 1995
Otello: Placido Domingo
Desdemona: Renée Fleming
Conductor: James Levine

Dio ti giocondi, o sposo... Esterrefatta fisso

This duet is one of the greatest things that Verdi wrote both musically and dramatically. The emotional complexity of it, especially the way Verdi plays with his own musical conventions to create an unsettling and unpredictable atmosphere, along with the opportunities he gives for vocal expression, are quite unique in his output.

In this electric live account of the scene, both Domingo and Fleming dig deep into their voices, playing off each other wonderfully to create a real sense of the desperate antagonism, pained confusion and half realisations of this half understood quarrel. Verdi is incredibly helpful with his fractured writing in forming the characters here, but both artists take further risks in using the full range of vocal colours at their disposal to superb effect. I particularly love the second half "Esterrefatta fisso" (starting around 4:45) in this regard.

You can read the libretto with a translation here. The clip starts on the first line that Desdemona has in Act III.