Watch Guiseppe Verdi’s Otello. This can be on the digital provider of your choice (Amazon, Netflix, etc.), or
your local library.
One recommended link provided on YouTube is as follows as it provides an English translation.
You will need to watch a minimum of the first two acts, but you are encouraged to watch the entire opera.
Using a word document, write the answers to the questions below as you listen and watch the Opera.
STEP TWO:
Once you have completed recording your answers, UPLOAD your document to Cabrini Learn by clicking
on the Active Listening Assignment icon above, choose “Browse My Computer” and Upload your file for
grading. ALL ASSIGNMENTS MUST BE SUBMITTED through Cabrini Learn. No Email will be accepted.
QUESTIONS
ACT I – The Harbor of Cyprus
Using the music vocabulary we have been learning all semester, describe Verdi’s musical depiction of the
storm in the opera’s opening scene.
What “special musical effects” do you hear to help create the storm musically?
Identify the FOUR (4) main characters in the Opera.
How does the music help to musically portray/introduce the characters?
Describe what happens musically during both the “drinking” and “fight” scenes.
The final duet is a love scene where the listeners are introduced to Verdi’s “kiss theme”. Describe how
Verdi adds to and supports the musical intensity of the scene, both building to the climax, and how he
brings the listener back to a more relaxed state closing the scene.
ACT II – A Chamber in the Castle
What special string effect that we discussed in class is used in this opera to create intensity?
Verdi explores, anger, jealousy, and forgiveness, throughout this opera. Describe how does Verdi musically
portray each of these emotions?
There is a dark scene between the two main characters at a table where one friend tells the other “Beware,
my lord, of jealousy”. What does Verdi do here musically with particular attention to both the musical scale
used and the instrumentation?
Why does Verdi add a chorus on stage with folk instruments including a mandolin? What type of tone is he
trying to musically capture and why?
In the final scene of this act two men join to make an oath. Who are the two men and what is the oath they
take? Describe what Verdi does musically to support the scene.
CONCLUSION
10. Describe one thing you liked about the Opera and/or music
