Christopher Maltman will make his staged debut as Iago this evening in Otello at the Royal Opera House opposite soprano Hrachuhí Bassénz as Desdemona.

Christopher recently sang the role with the Cleveland Orchestra in a concert version of Verdi’s penultimate opera, in which The New York Times reported he “oozed juicy seductiveness as an imposing Iago”. However, the Royal Opera House run will be the first time he steps into the notorious villain’s shoes in a fully-staged production.

Christopher is no stranger to Verdi, having sung Posa/Don Carlo, Simon Boccanegra, Ford/Falstaff, Count di Luna/Il trovatore, Guy de Montfort/Les Vêpres siciliennes, and most recently, Don Carlo di Vargas in La forza del destino at the Royal Opera House and Oper Frankfurt, and Rigoletto in Vienna, Barcelona, Berlin and Frankfurt. Next season, he will appear as Rigoletto at the Staatsoper Berlin, Count di Luna with Washington National Opera, and Ford at the Metropolitan Opera.

Ahead of this, Christopher will return to the Royal Opera House in September for Don Giovanni, this time in a role debut as Leperello having sung the title role to critical acclaim in over 15 cities. He will make a further role debut in January as Amfortas in Parsifal at the Grand Théâtre de Genève.