L’Otello di Boito e Verdi: storia di un capolavoro

The circumstances that lead to the creation of Otello are among the most compelling in the history of opera theater. The exhibition L’Otello di Boito e Verdi: storia di un capolavoro, set up at Palazzo Bossi Bocchi in Parma from October 12th to December 22nd by Fondazione Cariparma and Archivio Storico Ricordi, traces its birth and vicissitudes, full of interesting turns of events.

Thanks to the precious historical documents, mostly from the Archivio, all the creative, productive and commercial phases underlying the realization of the work are revealed: photographs, letters, costume designs and scenic arrangements, Otello’s autograph score with director’s notes handwritten by Giuseppe Verdi, the contract with the Maestro signed after a long “courtship” by Giulio Ricordi and the complicity of the musician and librettist Arrigo Boito, as well as the extensive correspondence that demonstrate the centrality of the organizational and entrepreneurial role of the publisher.

More information: Fondazione Cariparma