Idomeneo, K.366, Overture

James Levine conducting The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra;
Idomeneo, re di Creta ossia Ilia e Idamante (Italian: Idomeneo, King of Crete, or, Ilia and Idamante; usually referred to simply as Idomeneo, K. 366) is an Italian opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Varesco from a French text by Antoine Danchet, which had been set to music by André Campra as Idoménée in 1712. Mozart and Varesco were commissioned in 1780 by Karl Theodor, Elector of Bavaria for a court carnival. He probably chose the subject, though it might have been Mozart.

The Setting :
The opera is set in Crete, about 1200 BC. Helen, the wife of King Menelaus of Greece, has been carried off by Paris, son of King Priam of Troy, triggering the Trojan War. As she is also the sister-in-law of Agamemnon, several Greek kings allied with him have joined forces to lay siege to the city of Troy. One of these kings is Idomeneus (Idomeneo in the opera) of Crete. Having been away for many years, Idomeneo has, prior to his victorious return, sent ahead of him some Trojan captives, including Priams daughter, the princess Ilia. On her arrival in Crete she is rescued from a storm by Idomeneos young son, Idamante, who has ruled as regent in his fathers absence. Feelings of love have developed between the two.
Princess Elettra, daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, also loves Idamante. After Elettra and her brother, Oreste, killed their mother and her lover, she was forced to flee their home in Argos, and she has taken refuge in Crete.

During a storm at sea, Idomeneo, King of Crete, vows to the god Neptune that, if he survives, he will sacrifice the first human he meets on shore. The victim turns out to be his own son, Idamante. Mozart revelled in the intense human emotions of the story, creating finaly drawn musical portraits of each character.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• classical
• Opera
• Amadeus
• Mozart
• Overture
• James_Levine

[MrConvivator]

Danke, habe Link gesetzt

[lefekir]

Hey guys in Freiburg: This is the tempo!

[EuropeanArchive]

Nice performance!

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Greetings,

Rolf

Historical classical recordings

European Archive, Paris