Customer Reviews

Idomeneno [VHS]

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First of all, this is a strange production that bears little resemblance to any libretto of this opera you might own. And you will need a libretto since Opera d'Oro videos do not have subtitles! Pass this one up.

The unhappy performance history of Mozart's Idomeneo, re di Creta began to brighten when Glyndebourne started staging this "dramma per musica" in the early '50s, sparking new interest in this and other Mozart opera seria. Although performed six years out of preceding twenty-three, this John Cox production was new when it was recorded at the 1974 Glyndebourne Festival with Sir John Pritchard conducting. However, our knowledge of this opera and performance styles have changed, and so I would guess this two-video set is only for obsessed persons (like myself) who already know the opera like the back of their hand and would enjoy jumping in a time machine and actually experiencing what an early Glyndebourne Idomeneo production was like. How was the trip? - I had a good (nostalgic) time!

But before you click the "Buy" button, there are some things you should know. Remember you're back in 1974 - Idamante is a tenor, no ballet, parts of the 1786 version are freely dropped into the original of 1781, in a few of the da capo arias only the 'A' sections are performed, insignificant cuts in recitative are made and Richard Lewis (né Thomas Thomas, Manchester England, 1914), the Idomeneo, is about age sixty here and vocally a bit past his prime. Moreover, although the box text reads "complete opera," you really only get excerpts from Act I [overture, shipwreck scene, "Vedrommi intorno," Idomeneo-Idamante recitative, march and chorus finale]. Acts II and III look complete as they were staged in 1974.

Josephine Barstow as Elettra turns in the best singing and acting: in Act II, a woman in love with her first chance at happiness; in Act III, crawling the floor with fury and suffering, making the cries of "in me finerà" a hysterical laugh full of pain (Just as we sing it in our minds when we hear it!). The production directed by John Cox and designed by Roger Butlin works beautifully for such a small stage and the overall effect I feel is closer to Mozart's intentions than that 1982 Met version (in spite of the marvelous Jean-Pierre Ponnelle sets). How daring - you get to see what Mozart asked for, drowning sailors in Act I and a sea monster in Act II. In the famous Act III quartette, since the four characters can completely fill the stage, each experiencing his/her pain individually yet connected in a common tragedy, the emotion has nowhere to go but back through the audience. Simplicity of staging intensifies the pathos of Idomeneo's "Torna la pace al core" and the irony of the joyous final chorus.

IDOMENEO/ Richard Lewis, IDAMANTE/ Leo Goeke, ILIA/ Bozenza Betley, ELETTRA/ Josephine Barstow, ARBACE/ Alexander Oliver, GRAN SACERDOTE DI NETTUNO/ John Fryatt, LA VOCE/ Dennis Wicks. London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir John Pritchard.

NO SUBTITLES. TAPE 1: Act One & Act Two 63 minutes. TAPE 2: Act Three "& Act Four" [sic] 66 minutes. "Running Time: 125 minutes. Sung in Italian. Digitally Re-Mastered. VHS Stereo. NTSC. Manufactured under license from EuroArts International GmbH. © 1998.