Mozart's Idomeneo
Mozart's Idomeneo
Gramophone Choice
Anthony Rolfe Johnson (ten) Idomeneo Anne Sofie von Otter (mez) Idamante Sylvia McNair (sop) Ilia Hillevi Martinpelto (sop) Elettra Nigel Robson (ten) Arbace Glenn Winslade (ten) High Priest Cornelius Hauptmann (bass) Oracle Monteverdi Choir; English Baroque Soloists / Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Archiv 431 674-2AH3 (3h 31' · DDD · T/t) Buy from Amazon
This is unquestionably the most vital and authentic account of Idomeneo to date on disc (though see the more recent review of the Mackerras set below). We have here what was given at the work’s first performance in Munich plus, in appendices, what Mozart wanted, or was forced, to cut before that premiere and the alternative versions of certain passages, so that various combinations of the piece can be programmed by the listener. Gardiner’s direct, dramatic conducting catches ideally the agony of Idomeneo’s terrible predicament – forced to sacrifice his son because of an unwise row. This torment of the soul is also entirely conveyed by Anthony Rolfe Johnson in the title-role, to which Anne Sofie von Otter’s moving Idamante is an apt foil. Sylvia McNair is a diaphanous, pure-voiced Ilia, Hillevi Martinpelto a properly fiery, sharp-edged Elettra. With dedicated support from his own choir and orchestra, who obviously benefited from a long period of preparation, Gardiner matches the stature of this noble opera seria. The recording catches the excitement which all who heard the live performances will recall.
Additional Recommendations
Ian Bostridge (ten) Idomeneo Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (mez) Idamante Lisa Milne (sop) Ilia Barbara Frittoli (sop) Elettra Anthony Rolfe Johnson (ten) Arbace Paul Charles Clarke (ten) High Priest John Relyea (bass) Oracle Dunedin Consort; Edinburgh Festival Chorus; Scottish Chamber Orchestra / Sir Charles Mackerras
EMI 557260-2 (3h 22‘ · DDD · T/t) Buy from Amazon
There were golden opinions for the Idomeneo given at 2001’s Edinburgh Festival by these performers, and here it is on CD. The work is given complete, at the marvellously extravagant length at which Mozart initially planned it, bar some small (and authentic) cuts in the secco recitative. And it works. It works triumphantly, in fact. That’s partly due to Mackerras’s truly inspired reading of the score, and his insights into the meaning of its musical gestures. This is a score full of gestures, heavy with emotional significance, not only in the arias and the ensembles but perhaps above all in the orchestral recitative that abounds in this score as in no other of Mozart’s. It’s partly the expressiveness of Mackerras’s handling of what’s, in effect, Mozart’s emotional commentary on the unfolding of the plot that makes this performance so powerful. He has a clear vision of the expressive messages that Mozart transmits through texture or harmony or dynamic or rhythmic refinement.
The performance is also full of dramatic energy. During the Overture you experience that tingle in your spine that comes of the expectation of a curtain about to rise. Never mind that this isn’t a ‘period instrument’ performance: the textures are as lucid as one could wish, the articulation as light and precise, the balance as just. Tempi are unhurried.
Ian Bostridge makes a strong Idomeneo. His opening aria, ‘Vedrommi intorno’, is exquisitely done, smoothly and lovingly phrased. Mozart wrote it in a traditional style to flatter the voice of his original singer, Anton Raaff. Just here and there, and especially in the closing aria, one might perhaps have liked more variety of tone and in particular more soft and lyrical colouring. Idamante, originally a castrato part, is sung by a mezzo, and one can’t imagine one much better than Lorraine Hunt Lieberson: it’s a lovely, focused sound, with the firm centre that a male part needs, and there are many happy details of phrasing. Lisa Milne provides a sympathetic yet not frail Ilia, with a clear and warm ring to the voice. The singing of Barbara Frittoli as Elettra has properly a bit more edge to it and there’s plenty of tension and power to her first aria and especially her stormy final one, ‘D’Oreste, d’Ajace’. With Anthony Rolfe Johnson to sing Arbace, both of that character’s arias (as well as his important accompanied recitatives) are given, understandably, although the second in particular isn’t on the level of most of the score – Mozart probably excluded both of them in his own performances. It’s a joy to hear them so beautifully sung; the legato line and the smooth large leaps in the first are a delight.
The chorus is first-rate, and there’s excellent orchestral playing. This set, enshrining Mackerras’s profound and mature understanding of the music, is deeply moving.
DVD Recommendation
Philip Langridge (ten) Idomeneo Jerry Hadley (ten) Idamante Yvonne Kenny (sop) Ilia Carol Vaness (sop) Elettra Thomas Hemsley (bar) Arbace Anthony Roden (ten) High Priest Roderick Kennedy (bass) Oracle Glyndebourne Chorus; London Philharmonic Orchestra / Bernard Haitink
Stage director Trevor Nunn
Video director Christopher Swann
Warner Music Vision/NVC Arts 5046 73922-2 (3h 1’ · NTSC · 4:3 · 2.0 · 2-6 · s). Recorded live 1993. Buy from Amazon
Trevor Nunn produced his first opera, Idomeneo, at Glyndebourne in 1983, with felicitous results. John Napier’s designs imaginatively evoke the Cretan milieu, supported by restrained, dignified costumes and lighting. The spare setting now seems a model beside what usually passes for decor today. Within it Nunn directs his principals and chorus with economic yet pointed care.
Philip Langridge is a compellingly distraught and haunted Idomeneo, singing with his customary feeling for word-painting. He easily encompasses the longer version of ‘Fuor del mar’. Carol Vaness offers a fiery, richly contoured Elettra. Yvonne Kenny’s beautifully sung Ilia is more conventional and Jerry Hadley is a fresh, pleasing Idamante. Bernard Haitink conducts a lithe, forward-moving account of the score, though you’ll need a high volume setting to get the best out of the sound.
