Victoria Young -- paper on Othello and Othello in the Seraglio


   This is mostly very good but I was hoping you would see that the Sanlikol opera's
   plot is related to the Shakespeare plot by a series of substitutions or 
   reversals in the Venice-Turkey relationship, or in the basic traits of 
   characters or the relationships between characters, that all have the effect 
   of shining a light on those relationships "from the other side," so to speak.  
   For instance:

      Shakespeare                                Sanlikol

      Venice's "colony" on Cyprus is             Turkey's "colony" on Cyprus
      potentially under attack by Turkey         is potentially under attack by Venice

      Othello is a black Moorish warrior         Sumbul is a black eunuch 
      for Venice                                 who tries to negotiate peace for 
                                                 Turkey
   
      Desdemona is daughter of a senator         Suzan is a slave
 
      Iago is motivated mostly by hate           Frenk Mustafa is motivated
      for Othello (and Cassio)                   mostly by love for Suzan   

   There are several other substitutions or reversals of this type too.       
  
   I don't think that it is right to say that the border between Venice and Turkey is
   removed in the story of the opera.  In both stories, in fact, they are enemies that 
   are at war.   In the Shakespeare play, a battle is avoided because the Turkish fleet is
   destroyed by a storm; in the opera, open war is essentially avoided by negotiation.  
   But in both cases, the underlying relationship is adversarial.   

   The writing is mostly good, but there are a few places where I don't think you
   read what you were saying carefully.  For example on page 1: "both are African 
   Americans" -- oops!  

   Grade:  (88) B+