ABSTRACT
In 1930, Stanislavski was forced by serious illness to withdraw from a production of Othello. To L. M. Leonidov, who was playing the title role, he wrote the following letters while convalescing in Nice. In all his world he has had only two passions: Desdemona and his military art; as with a great artist his life is divided between a beloved woman and his art. When you reach Cyprus your desire is to rush at once to Desdemona. In the instance the whole figure of Iago, the horrible crime of Cassio, Othello's great love for Desdemona for the sake of which he flouts military discipline, all is increased in scale. It was only once, in the Hunting Club production, that he was able to produce it in the way he dreamed of. Usually, however, he believes that one should not cut Shakespeare down but always expand him.
