Otello (usually singing it in German). The Russian heroic tenor Ivan Yershov was a renowned pre-World War I Otello in his native country. His compatriot Arnold Azrikan achieved his greatest recognition as a dramatic tenor in Otello. For this performance he was awarded the Stalin Prize in 1946. Enrico Caruso was studying "Otello" when he died unexpectedly in 1921, thus thwarting the New York Metropolitan Opera company's plans to stage the opera as a new vehicle for its star tenor. Currently, Plácido Domingo has appeared in more video productions of the opera than any other tenor. Also, he has recorded the
Otello sopranos have also sung the role of Desdemona since 1887, including Renata Tebaldi (1954), Leonie Rysanek (1960), Gwyneth Jones (1968), Mirella Freni (1974), Margaret Price (1977), Renata Scotto (1978), Katia Ricciarelli (1985), Kiri Te Kanawa (1991), Cheryl Studer (1993), Renée Fleming (1996) and Sonya Yoncheva (2015). For many years it was common for white actors to wear dark makeup when playing Otello. The Metropolitan Opera stopped the practice in 2015. Some have argued that using dark makeup for the character is a matter of costuming, and not a true example of racist blackface. The Metropolitan decision led to calls for