Herbert von Karajan directed this film of Verdi’s Shakespearan masterpiece as well as conducting the Berlin Philharmonic. As the tragic Moor of Venice, arguably his greatest role, John Vickers (in the words of critic David Cairns) "commands both the notes and the moral grandeur of the part. … And he has the aura of greatness – greatness of heart, of bearing, of musical and dramatic conception". Mirella Freni is a heartbreakingly lovely and fragile Desdemona, while the fine English baritone Peter Glossop plays the villainous Jago.
Jon Vickers
as Otello
Mirella Freni
as Desdemona
Peter Glossop
as Jago
Stefania Malagú
as Emilia
José van Dam
as Lodovico
Michel Sénéchal
as Roderigo
Aldo Bottion
as Cassio
Herbert von Karajan
as Conductor
