Idomeneo

Opera and Drama.

H. E. K. twenty eight nota bene what has always seemed unnatural in an aria are the asides in speech one can easily and quickly throw in a few words in an aside but in an aria in which the words must be repeated the effect is bad munich november eighth seventeen eighty to his father Mozart had been invited to Munich to compose an opera, Idomeneo Redi Creta, for the carnival of 1781.

In contradistinction to the observations touching poetry and music in the preceding paragraph, this remark shows that he nevertheless had a sense of dramatic propriety.

He accepted the form as he found it, but protested against the things which stood in the way of its vitalization.

munich november thirteenth seventeen eighty to his father the reference is to the opera idomeneo thirty it will be better to write a recitative under which the instruments can do some good work for in this scene which is to be the best in the whole opera there will be so much noise and confusion on the stage that an aria would cut but a sorry figure Moreover, there will be a thunderstorm which is not likely to cease out of respect for an aria, and the effect of a recitative between two choruses will be incomparably better.

Munich, November 15, to his father.

Mozart was at work on Idomeneo.

31.

Favorite Mozart role you have sung?

The very latest, Idomeneo.

I saw your Idomeneo at Transoper Berlin.

That was great.

Favorite Mozart aria?

They didn't know who this woman was, and now all of a sudden she's, like, on a rocket ship into the top, int- into the upper echelons of fame.

Uh, two years later she makes her Met debut, and was in telecasts of Bohème, Rigoletto, Traviata, Idomeneo, and also Carmen.

Like, that doesn't just happen by accident, that she ended, that she kept ending up on screen.

And, uh, uh, in all of these roles, the, the, the write-ups that she'd get are about how...

It was an opera seria called I Domineo, King of Crete.

Now, I have been a little flippant about the plots of the earlier operas, but Idomeneo is, I think, the first Mozart opera that needs no qualifications, no amazing for a teenager, or no worth hearing for its promise.

Audiences might struggle with the whole heroes of the ancient world acting heroically and a sea monster opera seria features of the libretto, but with the music, Mozart is moving into the blend of drama, passion, wit, and elegance that would define his maturity and his continuing appeal.

Here is the overture.

It is about four minutes long, and this is John Elliot Gardner conducting the English Baroque soloists, Mozart's Idomeneo.

Idomeneo so ¶¶ ¶¶ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ Thank you.

That was John Eliot Gardner conducting the English Baroque soloists with the overture from Mozart's Idomeneo, King of Crete.

Okay, guess what? Time for another subgenre in the world of opera, but this one is easy.

Uh, we then continue on, and we're being hosted by the Shakespeare Theatre Company.

Uh, Harman Hall, which is a wonderful 800-seat theater in downtown DC, uh, has a great acoustic, and we will be performing Mozart's opera Idomeneo but in a rather different version because everything this season is a different version in a way.

Mm.

And, uh, interestingly, of course, the, the story of Idomeneo has its roots also in The Odyssey.

Uh, but I, along with our conductor, music director- Bob Spano have always been a little troubled that Idomeneo is one of those operas that's kind of falling out of favor.

Hmm.

Uh, you program it and you look out at not very full houses.

That's true.