Otello at Lyric Theatre, QPAC

Celebrating the Verdi Bicentenary, Johannes Fritzsch, Chief Conductor of Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Graz Opera, will make his long-awaited Opera Queensland theatre debut in a bold new production of Otello created by Australia's foremost director of Shakespeare, Simon Phillips.

From its first explosive moments, describing the terror of a storm at sea, to the three gentle kisses bestowed upon Desdemona's cold lips by her dying husband, Verdi's magnificent score is one of the great pinnacles of the opera repertoire.

Leading a superb cast is Lithuanian tenor Kristian Benedikt in the title role, opposite the exquisite Cheryl Barker as Desdemona, Douglas McNicol as the scheming Iago and Aldo di Toro as Cassio. Opera Queensland's Chorus will revel in the grandeur and scale of the work's monumental choruses.