Opera in Three acts composed by Gioachino Rossini. The italian libretto, written by Francesco Maria Berio di Salsi, is based on the Shakespearean tragedy of the same name, which narrates the doomed love story between Othello, a Moor general in the service of the Venetian army, and his wife Desdemona, the object of the affection of Iago, whose jealousy will lead him to destroy their marriage and, ultimately, Othello's life.