The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino has announced a cast change for its production of Verdi’s “Otello.”

The company that the role of Desdemona will be performed by Zarina Abaeva replacing the originally announced Anastasia Bartoli.

Abaeva has performed at the Perm Opera and Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, among others. Her repertoire includes the music of Puccini, Tchaikovsky, Poulenc, Offenbach, Bizet, and Verdi.

The casting news marks the second major change for production after Fabio Sartori withdrew and was replaced by Arsen Soghomonyan.

“Otello” is also set to star Luca Salsi, Joseph Dahdah, Adriano Gramigni, Eleonora Filipponi, and Francesco Pittari. Zubin Mehta conducts the opera which is set to run between May 20 and 31, 2023.