After the composition of his opera 'Aida' and of the Requiem, Verdi withdrew completely to the Villa Sant' Agata and considered this to be the end of his career as a composer. It took a bit of cunning and persistence of his publisher Giulio Ricordi to persuade him to work on a new opera: the trick being to make the subject of 'Otello' by Shakespeare, whom he valued, even admired greatly, tempting to him. The result was the next-to-last opera of the Italian master, created in the course of seven years and kept secret by Verdi for a long time, the widely acclaimed world premiere of which took place at the Scala of Milan early in 1887.Apart from the libretto, this edition contains introductory commentaries of Kurt Pahlen who also adds information on the compositional structure and context to the musical as well as external and internal dramatic action of the opera. A short synopsis and a brief outline of the genesis bring the work into relation with the composer's entire oeuvre and life, thus offering a comprehensive, richly illustrated introduction.