Otello, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco

It has been a quarter of a century since the San Francisco Opera mustered an Otello worthy of donning the mantle of Verdi’s tragic protagonist. The post-Domingo generation yielded nothing but puny pretenders until Johan Botha bowed last weekend. The South African tenor proved the genuine article, heroic, if not ideally liquid of voice, imposing in manner, heartbreakingly vulnerable in extremis. As much warrior as lover, Botha lavished ringing grandeur on the “Esultate” and brought a shimmering wisp of tone to “Già nella notte”. His is basically an introspective interpretation, his plight projected without excessive physicality, a magnificent, wounded beast and all the more affecting for it.

Botha found himself in mixed company. Baritone Marco Vratogna introduced an Iago of edgy brilliance but lacking the sinuous allure that distinguishes great exponents of the role. Soprano Zvetelina Vassileva gave us Desdemona as victim, far too passive and undersized in the third act confrontation, though the “Willow Song” captured this artist at her best, emotionally focused if pallid of tone. Renée Tatum’s empathetic Emilia testified to the excellence of the company’s training.

Peter Hall’s Chicago production, later seen at Glyndebourne and tended here by Stephen Barlow, gratuitously advances the action to the 18th century, with all the cast, save Otello, garbed like refugees from some godawful Jane Austen musicalisation; Cassio (Beau Gibson) seemed a double for Beau Brummel. John Gunter’s tiered, curved set approximates the Globe Theatre and furnishes the nooks and crannies demanded by the plot.

Much of the glory derived from the pit, where Nicola Luisotti was concluding his debut stint as music director. The conductor has been a source of distinction this autumn, the principal agent of general director David Gockley’s plan to restore the Italian repertory to its primacy. Luisotti’s Otello abounded in brilliant playing, thrust and much savouring of orchestral detail. Absent was the shaping hand demanded by Verdi’s third act concertato, where the wonted climax was denied full impact. Still, Luisotti’s was an appointment that will influence San Francisco’s destiny through the next decade.

To December 2, tel +1 415 864 3330