Mozart's great, groundbreaking dramatic classic, in this superb HD production from the Salzburg Festival, starring Ramón Vargas and Magdalena Kozená

Directors
Ursel and Karl-Ernst Herrmann

Performers
Idomeneo: Ramón Vargas
Idamante: Magdalena Kozená
Ilia: Ekatarina Siurina
Elettra: Anja Harteros
Arbace: Jeffrey Francis

Camerata Salzburg
The Salzburg Bach Chorus
Sir Roger Norrington (conductor)


Written for the court of Munich in 1780, Idomeneo is often regarded as the first of Mozart's seven undisputed dramatic master works. Never before had he cast such bold, impassioned music into a dramatic form or devised such a well-calibrated drama. The story evokes numerous dramatic themes: King Idomeneo is shipwrecked and has promised to sacrifice the first person he sees to Neptune, should he be saved. The first person turns out to be his son, Idamante, who stands between two women, the Trojan princess Ilia, whom he loves, and the Greek princess Elettra, who loves him.

Though respecting the tenets of dramatic opera seria, Mozart repeatedly plays with the rigid conventions. Arias are heightened by unexpected twists and turns, recitatives convey jagged emotional rawness, and the hitherto-stereotyped set pieces become entire scenes in themselves. This was the first work in which Mozart treated the instruments in a far more liberal manner also; voices are blended with solo instruments, creating new tone colours that prefigure the Romantic era.

This is a simple, elegant production, directed in concise manner by Sir Roger Norrington; delicacy and rousing bravura form Ramón Vargas Idomeneo; Magdalena Kozená is a passionate, glowing Idamante; Ekatarina Siurina is a lyrical Ilia, and Anja Harteros is intense and fiery as Elettra, hurling out her vengeance aria with repressed fury.