A four-act
opera by
Verdi, after
Shakespeare, first performed at
La Scala on 5 February 1887. The
libretto was by
Arrigo Boito, who also did
Falstaff with him. It was produced in New York in 1888 and London in 1889.
One of the best-known arias is Desdemona's Piangea cantando. from Act 4, in which she recounts how her mother's maid Barbara sang the Willow Song: O Salce! Salce!. Another is Iago's demonic Credo in Act 2: Verdi was even tempted to call the opera Iago.
Note that in the opera Desdemona is pronounced dez-DAY-mo-na.
Rossini also wrote an Otello, ossia Il Moro di Venezia, which premiered in Naples on 4 December 1816. There is also a concert overture Othello by Dvorak.