Short answers, pulled from the story.
Giuseppe Verdi decided to end his career as an opera composer in December 1871 after the premiere of Aida. He retreated into a decade-long retirement that left his Milan publisher Giulio Ricordi worried about lost talent and profits.
Arrigo Boito wrote the libretto for Otello despite suffering from illness during the early stages of their partnership. Composition actually began in March 1884 at Genoa after the project dragged on for five years.
Otello premiered at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan on the 5th of February 1887 under conductor Franco Faccio. Francesco Tamagno sang Otello while Victor Maurel played Iago and Romilda Pantaleoni portrayed Desdemona.
Francesco Tamagno created the trumpet-voiced original Otello role despite leaving much to be desired according to Verdi's own letters. Plácido Domingo has appeared in more video productions than any other tenor since the opera's inception.
The Metropolitan Opera stopped using blackface-style makeup in August 2015 after decades of practice. Some argued that applying dark makeup was merely costuming rather than true racist blackface before this decision.