Mozart: Idomeneo

A storm forces King Idomeneo, returning from war, to make a fateful vow to Neptune: upon a safe return home, he will sacrifice the first person he encounters—who turns out to be his own son. The storm, evocatively conjured by Mozart’s music, also rages within the opera's characters. Father and son, the two princesses Ilia and Elettra, all hoping for better times after the trauma of war—they are all helplessly at the mercy of the forces of nature and emotion. Mozart’s ‘dramma per musica’ "Idomeneo" from 1781, which completely revitalized the then-moribund genre of opera seria, marks the beginning of his mature period of operas. In this commissioned work, written for the excellent ensemble of the Munich Residenztheater, he was able to draw on his full musical resources, creating an extraordinary stage work with demanding arias, nuanced character portraits, a virtuosic orchestral part, and several grand choral scenes that rank among the most impressive in Mozart's output. It is not without reason, then, that "Idomeneo" is one of Sir Simon Rattle’s favorite pieces. It gave him the opportunity, following his 2023 appointment as chief conductor of the Bavarian Radio Chorus and Symphony Orchestra, to work very intensively with the chorus and to further deepen his engagement with historically informed performance practice. He was supported by a first-class cast—with British tenor Andrew Staples in the challenging title role, soprano Sabine Devieilhe and mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená as the touching pair of lovers Ilia and Idamante, and soprano Elsa Dreisig as the equally jealous and desperate Elettra. Other soloists and choral soloists perform alongside the Bavarian Radio Chorus, prepared by Howard Arman. Simon Rattle conducts the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.