Otello, I have a long history nearly 40 years. It is quite astonishing that his last two operas are so different. One is so full of passion and physical strength, which was astonishing because Verdi wrote this in his 70s. In its own way, it is also a sort of a mountain top of opera music, and of course what links them in a way is the Shakespeare and Verdi’s love for Shakespeare.
In that way, Verdi always needed to be inspired by the libretto and the text, and it is example how in an opera so many elements must come together to produce something special. And I think combination of Shakespeare and Verdi is pretty special.