Deadly fear and parental love drive the Cretan King Idomeneo into a desperate situation: Finding himself in danger of drowning, he vows to Neptune, God of the Seas, that he will sacrifice the first creature he encounters if he should arrive safely on land. His pleas are heard, yet the first person he meets after reaching the coast is his own son, Idamante. The king tries to save his son’s life by offering his own instead. He separates Idamante from his lover, the Trojan woman Ilia, and sends the young man together with Electra to the latter’s homeland. But the Gods demand their rightful tribute …
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart took this well-known ancient myth as the basis for his great choral opera. The work straddles two musical genres: Baroque opera seria and French tragédie lyrique. In tune with contemporary tastes, Mozart turned to that old theatrical trick, the »deus ex machina«, to bring the story to a happy conclusion.
Dramma per musica in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Performed in Italian with German surtitles
Running time 3 hours
Musical Director: Julia Jones
Staging: Michael Schulz
Set Design: Kathrin-Susann Brose
Costume Design: Renée Listerdal
Lighting Design: Andreas Frank
Choir: Pablo Assante
Dramaturgy: Valeska Stern, Nora Schmid
Idomeneo: Wookyung Kim
Idamante: Anke Vondung
Elettra: Rachel Willis-Sørensen
Ilia: Elena Gorshunova
Arbace: Timothy Oliver
Oberpriester Neptuns: Mert Süngü
Zwei Kreterinnen: Andrea Schubert, Jana Hohlfeld
Zwei Trojaner: Friedrich Darge, Karl-Heinz Fleischer
Zwei Vorsängerinnen des Volkes: Gabriele Berke, Annett Eckert
Zwei Vorsänger des Volkes: Frank Blümel, Alejandro Pizarro
Das Orakel: Herrenchor
Saxon State Opera Choir Dresden
Staatskapelle Dresden
