Mackenzie had been a child prodigy, and was established as a successful composer. He came from a musical family in Edinburgh, and was seen as returning home to his friends. However, the high hopes of all concerned were largely unfulfilled. The potentially dramatic storyline does not seem to have been well adapted by the librettist, with the central roles being under-written, and the plot badly structured. Mr Hueffer's services do not seem to have been required in that capacity subsequently. However, a decade later he did supply the English translation of Verdi's Otello, for which Boito had already provided a perfect structure.
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