Otello after the Storm

The powerful storm that opens Verdi’s Otello swept away the clouds looming over the first year of Riccardo Muti’s tenure as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. After a very successful opening of the season last September, the Italian conductor cancelled one performance after another due to health reasons. Rumors spread that he might not even manage to fulfill his commitment to the orchestra -a worrisome perspective after a difficult and costly process to lure him to Chicago. Luckily, these preocuppations proved to be unfounded. Last April Muti came back on the podium of the CSO, leading the orchestra through three outstanding, sold-out concert performances of Verdi’s opera.For over thirty years, since his tenure as principal conductor at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Otello has been a staple of his repertory. He conducted…