Othello.

Perched on a hilltop in the province of Ancona, not far from the Adriatic Sea, Jesi is a remarkable ancient town. Two historical figures of renown were born here: the eighteenth-century musician Giovanni Battista Pergolesi and Frederick II of Swabia, who became king of Naples and Sicily, king of the Germans, and head of the Holy Roman Empire in the thirteenth century.

The city theater hosts a brief but legitimate opera and ballet season, featuring only new productions and premieres. The 1994 season closed with the first performance of Othello, a ballet of great dramatic power by Fabrizio Monteverde inspired by Shakespeare's tragedy.

With this Othello, Monteverde has regained the felicitous inspiration he seemed earlier to have lost. The production he has created (and directed) is remarkable for its visual impact and energetic, dynamic dancing. The latter is characterized by repeated geometric shapes and gestures that are almost expressionist in places, such as the strong movements of a hand opening up, then tightening into a fist--the hand that is later to have a deadly stranglehold on Desdemona.

Though slightly long-winded in parts, Monteverde's choreography is never didactic, but emphasizes the power of passion and the meaning of treason. Thus Othello, Desdemona, lago, Emilia, and Cassio are but the physical manifestations of timeless concepts that go beyond the telling of one story. No need, therefore, for a dark-skinned Othello; the historic setting of Shakespeare's drama is simply rendered by light tunics, minimal, laced-up bodices, and the crisscross pattern of the men's tights; and the Moor's palace is reduced to a mysterious space created with light shafts and trelliswork curtains, lozenge shapes that open and close.

An original score, composed by Federico Bonetti Amendola, was not in itself particularly interesting but did serve the choreography well. Costumes and set, designed by Stefania Battaglia and Gabriele Pellegrini, are wonderful, with colors ranging from soft yellow and amber to burnt sienna and dark green. Carlo Cerri's lighting design is exquisite. A superb performance was given by the entire ensemble, led by Armando Santin (Othello), Simonetta Giannasi (Desdemona), Eugenio Scigliano (Iago), Sveva Berti (Emilia), and Roberto Sartori (Cassio), with Daniela Giuliano, Katiuscia Bozza, Lisa Martini, Ilaria Pulidori, Alessandro Bigonzetti, Eugenio Buratti, and Giuliano Guerrini.

Balletto di Toscana, headquartered in Florence, is perhaps the best of Italy's private dance companies, those not attached to a theater or other public institution. It has been consistent in pursuing its dual goals: a corps de ballet in which all dancers are soloists (but in which there are no "stars") and a repertoire created by the company itself which requires an excellent academic training and the ability to assimilate the varied styles of contemporary choreographers. The company was created almost ten years ago by Cristina Bozzolini, the strong-willed former prima ballerina of Florence's Teatro Comunale who is now its artistic director.

The troupe's repertoire includes forty-eight works created by Micha van Hoecke, Dennis Wayne, Nils Christe, Ed Wubbe, Robert North, Hans van Manen, and others. In addition to Monteverde, Italian choreographers include Gianfranco Paoluzi, Massimo Moricone, Virgilio Sieni, and Mauro Bigonzetti, dancemakers with backgrounds that range from drama to experimental dance, from American postmodern dance to French-German dance-theater. Together, these artists are the authors of a genuinely contemporary Italian dance style.