For this production of Verdi’s Shakespearean tragedy Otello starring Johan Botha in the title role and Renée Fleming as Otello’s innocent wife, Desdemona, and Falk Struckmann as the villainous Iago. Semyon Bychkov, who led an acclaimed run of performances featuring Botha and Fleming in the 2007-08 season, again conducts the opera, regarded by many critics as Verdi’s dramatic masterpiece.