Adapted from Rossini’s “Otello”
Normally this scene from Rossini’s 1816 opera Otello is about Otello and Rodrigo arguing over the love of Desdemona, but in this scene, the two man are seated in a hospital room, waiting to get their vaccine administered. They bicker about their own macho ways, but when it comes time to get the vaccine shot, both at first, chicken out. All’s well that ends well, however, when the two finally take their medicine … and sing really great high notes.
This operatic performance is an opera duet from Rossini’s “Otello” inspired by well known skepticism preventing individuals and communities from getting vaccinated during the pandemic. Subtitles in the opera have been crafted to humanize peoples’ vaccine concerns while building vaccine trust throughout the video. Ultimately, to generate support for COVID-19 vaccines, leveraging the power of performance to connect on both an individual and community level to increase immunity.
©A Lab Studios
Starring: Nathan Granner, tenor. Orson Van Gay II, tenor. Jamie Chamberlin, soprano.
Courageous and melodious voices! Good for us it took them so much time.