Otello

There is nothing more exciting in the theater than witnessing the birth of a genuine star, and this is a prime example: Kiri Te Kanawa’s Met debut, made on only a few hours’ notice. She stepped on stage a virtual unknown, but after her ravishingly sung, deeply poignant portrayal of Desdemona, she was instantly beloved by opera lovers around the world. With the incandescent Jon Vickers as Otello, Thomas Stewart as Iago, and James Levine’s thrilling conducting, this is an Otello for the ages.