VERDI'S OTELLO> TO AIR AT THE CLARK ART INSTITUTE

For Immediate Release

August 5, 2014

Williamstown, MA—The Clark Art Institute presents an encore performance of Verdi’s Shakespearean masterpiece Otello, recorded from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, on Wednesday, August 13 at 12:55 pm. Tickets are $15 ($12 members). To order tickets, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 0524.

Johan Botha takes the title role opposite star soprano Renée Fleming as Desdemona. Falk Struckmann sings the role of the villain Iago for the first time at the Met, and rising tenor Michael Fabiano, a winner of the Met’s 2007 National Council Auditions, makes his house role debut as Cassio. Seymon Bychkov conducts.

Othello, newly married to the very young Desdemona, is selected leader of a major military operation. Iago, passed over for promotion by Othello in favor of the young Cassio, persuades Othello that Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair.

The tragedy about forbidden love, the destructive power of jealousy, and betrayal was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, in 1887 and has been a popular choice for opera-goers ever since. The New York Times called Struckmann “solemn, malignant and unassuming…[he] conveyed chillingly how Iago manages to wreak such havoc while eluding suspicion.”

Approximate running time is 3 hours, 27 minutes.

ABOUT THE CLARK

The Clark Art Institute is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, open to the public with more than 240,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.

The Clark opened its expanded facilities on July 4, 2014, unveiling new and enhanced spaces that accommodate the continued growth of the Institute’s programs. Included in this final stage of the project are the new 42,600-square-foot Clark Center designed by Tadao Ando Architect & Associates, expansion and renovation of the original Museum Building and the ongoing renovation of the Manton Research Center by Selldorf Architects, and a sweeping redesign of the grounds by Reed Hilderbrand Landscape Architecture. The first phase of the campus expansion project was completed in 2008 with the opening of Stone Hill Center, a striking conservation and exhibitions facility also designed by Tadao Ando.

The Clark is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Opening season hours: Galleries open daily from July 4 through October 13, 2014, 10 am to 5 pm (Fridays in July and August until 7 pm). From October 14, 2014 through June 30, 2015: Galleries open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is $20 through October 31, 2014 and free year-round for Clark members, children 18 and younger, and students with valid ID. For more information, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.

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Press contact
Amanda Powers
The Clark
[email protected]
413 458 0471