Otello

opera by Rossini

Also known as: “Othello”

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July 1, 2026

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Gioachino Rossini's opera Otello (1816) is an opera seria with a tragic ending, based on William Shakespeare's play of the same name. The opera features three tenors—Iago, Rodrigo, and Otello—and a besieged Desdemona. Rossini's adaptation notably replaces Shakespeare's handkerchief with a misdelivered letter. While the first acts adhere to conventional opera seria, the final act includes Desdemona's elaborate Willow Song and a prayer before the murder scene, influencing later operas. This opera was eventually superseded by Giuseppe Verdi's more famous opera, also titled Otello.123

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Gioachino Rossini
Italian period
…between these two comedies came Otello (1816; Othello), a setting of William Shakespeare’s play that held the stage until superseded by Giuseppe Verdi’s greater opera of the same name. La gazza ladra (1817; The Thieving Magpie), a semi-serious work, was a triumph in Milan.
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…between these two comedies came Otello (1816; Othello), a setting of William Shakespeare’s play that held the stage until superseded by Giuseppe Verdi’s greater opera of the same name. La gazza ladra (1817; The Thieving Magpie), a semi-serious work, was a triumph in Milan.
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Shakespeare and Opera
Women from theatre to opera
Rossini’s Otello (1816), the first opera seria with a tragic ending, poises three tenors—Iago (the villain), Rodrigo (the rejected lover), and Otello (the interloper)—against a besieged Desdemona who outweighs them all—and her basso father, Brabantio, to boot. Following the 18th-century French “translation” of Othello by Jean-François…
Read More
Rossini’s Otello (1816), the first opera seria with a tragic ending, poises three tenors—Iago (the villain), Rodrigo (the rejected lover), and Otello (the interloper)—against a besieged Desdemona who outweighs them all—and her basso father, Brabantio, to boot. Following the 18th-century French “translation” of Othello by Jean-François…
Read More