This 2020 studio recording of Verdi's Otello was preceded by live performances that generated a great deal of buzz. Not to worry: the studio setting did not diminish in the least the energy of tenor Jonas Kaufmann in the lead role, and the result is a highly exciting Otello. In any performance, but especially in one like this, what one notices about the opera is just how much of it is devoted to the title role, something of a marathon that requires the singer to maintain precision over long stretches that sometimes hang around high C territory. Blazing his way through was a specialty of Plácido Domingo, Kaufmann is in his league here, even if just a trifle lower in terms of dramatic and vocal power. The number of shades in Kaufmann's voice is impressive, and his approach to a scene will bring listeners back for multiple rehearings. Sample the speechlike modulations of tone in "Roderigo, ebben, che pensi?" from Act One, just for starters. Kaufmann is a spectacular technician who never forgets what he is singing about, and when Shakespeare is providing the story, that's a necessity, no matter how rare it may be. The other singers are fine, and Federica Lombardi as Desdemona is definitely a singer to watch. The expert work of the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia is another draw, but ultimately, Otello is about its lead, and this one is not to be missed.