Zubin Mehta in conversation with Noah Bendix-Balgley (4 min.)

For the performances of Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello in Baden-Baden, the Berliner Philharmoniker were able to engage one of the most experienced conductors of the work as well as one of the orchestra’s most close artistic partners: Zubin Mehta. In this conversation with the Philharmoniker’s first concertmaster, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Mehta explains in what way Verdi’s late work distinguishes itself from his earlier operas, and what he learned about the opera from studying the score with Herbert von Karajan and from working together with great singers such as Plácido Domingo and Jon Vickers. This interview took place during the rehearsal phase in Berlin before the Philharmoniker set off for its Easter festival in Baden-Baden – and shortly after the orchestra had appointed Mehta an honorary member.