FROM AROUND THE WORLD: PORTLAND.(Review)

Portland Opera's first Otello in thirty-two years (Nov. 4) was a new production that left much to be desired but still made a good stab at Verdi's tragic masterpiece. In the title role, John Keyes was towering and sympathetic but needed more differentiation and intensity. The voice, appealing in timbre, sounded more like a big lyric than a dramatic tenor. It seemed tireless and secure, except for some strained and sharply pitched high notes. Keyes's legato was a strength, but his diction was mushy: long vowels, soft consonants. He lumbered through the role.

As Iago, Gino Quilico was equal to the demands of his role at every point. His voice, darker than it was a decade ago, had a thrusting quality that Keyes's lacked. Quilico's expertly acted Iago was a highly intelligent man who seemed to be exploring villainy for the first time, both fascinated and repelled by evil, recoiling at his own thoughts in the "Credo." Quilico showed Iago's villainy only when alone; in public, he was cheerful, ingratiating and fatally easy to trust.