Otello by Gioachino Rossini San Francisco Opera, 28 October 1994 War Memorial Opera House I've never seen the more famous Verdi Otello sung live, but I've listened to and seen it broadcast many times. It seemed strange to see this version first. Having done so, it's easy to see why the Verdi is so much to be preferred. But for all the simplified storyline and clumsy staging, the music in this was still rich, typical Rossini, and I like that: big swelling crescendos, exuberant ensembles, pretty melodies enough for anybody. The first thing I really noticed in Act 1 was that Bruce Ford (Rodrigo) has a very warm, pretty voice. He is handsome and a confident presence on stage, and he made a very good impression. His ensemble with Elmiro (Kevin Langan) and Desdemona won a warm, extended ovation. Then in Act 2 he sang a duet with Chris Merritt (Otello). It was like listening to a teenager singing with a grown man. Merritt doesn't have a pretty voice, but it is very strong and clean and he sang in full, ringing style here, eclipsing Ford entirely. I had seen Merritt in this house as Guillaume Tell in 1992 and liked him very much then. That is a better role for his sturdy voice, but I still enjoyed him greatly in this one. Cecilia Gasdia (Desdemona) was a new voice for me: clean, pure, not especially warm but more than powerful enough to carry off the typical Rossini challenge of soaring over big noisy ensembles and busy orchestration. I also enjoyed Craig Estep's Iago (why are the villains nearly always the most interesting characters in opera?) although the top range in this role was painfully beyond him. I was most disappointed in the old fashioned, stand-and-deliver staging delivered by Laurie Feldman. Surrogates of the main characters on stilts acted out previews of the story during the overture and at other odd times, an unnecessary and clumsy intrusion in my opinion. Conductor Patrick Summers didn't impress me; I like the SFO orchestra, but it seemed to be underachieving here, delivering a sometimes muddy, wandering sound.