Estonia’s Othello turns intrigue into an art

Director Vincent Boussard’s production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Othello at Estonia National Opera explores how lies exploit human weaknesses, according to a review by Aare Tool published by ERR. The review first appeared in Sirp.

Tool links the production’s themes to the present, where “alternative truth” can be used as a weapon by those who know how to exploit vanity, blindness and jealousy. Apart from a few computer monitors on stage, Boussard avoids forcing the story into a modern setting.

The review opens with composer Pierre Boulez’s criticism of opera houses as places of entrenched stagnation. In a 1972 essay, Boulez argued that culture shut away in a self-satisfied museum-like silence was as good as dead, and that a generation unwilling to question past achievements had little hope of putting its abilities and energy to use.

Tool says Boussard shows an assured sense of the present. He also draws a parallel between the opera’s plotting and intrigue surrounding Estonia National Opera, writing that the theatre is described in investigative journalism as being both in and not in a management crisis. “Theatre imitates life, and life imitates theatre,” he writes.

The production uses a spare set that Tool likens to a hospital corridor, with intrigue unfolding behind the scenes. Estonia’s sopranos Kadri Raalik and Olena Bražnõk are both suited to the role of Desdemona; Raalik won the audience’s favour at the premiere with her performance of the Willow Song. The production premiered on September 25, with another performance on September 27.