'How should I interpret words so ambiguous and disturbing?'
2:10
20.
'Saved from storms, the storm within me rages'
6:02
Idomeneo
21.
'What pleasure could be deeper than mine is?'
1:29
22.
'Dearest creature, that I know you love another cannot hurt me'
6:09
Electra
76:46
COMPACT DISC TWO
1.
'You shores of Crete'
0:51
Electra
2.
'Calmly the sea is calling'
4:02
Chorus, Electra
3.
'You must set sail, Prince'
0:31
Idomeneo, Idamante
4.
'If I must leave, I beg you'
3:43
Idamante, Electra, Idomeneo
5.
'The storm winds are howling'
1:31
Chorus
6.
'I am the one, merciless Neptune, the culprit'
1:50
Idomeneo
7.
'Disaster! Run faster to flee such a horror!'
1:28
Chorus
Act III
8.
'Here, alone but not lonely'
0:56
9.
'Heav'nly breezes, soft and gentle'
5:44
Ilia
10.
'Noble princess, if I dare to seek you out again'
3:25
11.
'At the moment such words were uttered'
2:53
Idamante, Ilia
12.
'(What do I see here?)'
2:00
Idomeneo, Ilia, Idamante, Electra
13.
'Alone the earth I wander'
5:28
Idamante, Ilia, Idomeneo, Electra
14.
'Most unfortunate land!'
3:22
Arbace
15.
'Raise your eyes for a moment, your highness'
4:31
High Priest, Idomeneo
16.
'Oh, oh vow past redemption'
4:47
Chorus, High Priest
17.
March
1:27
18.
'Oh mighty ocean god, we beg you hear us'
3:07
Idomeneo, Chorus
19.
'Highness, our hero, the prince Idamante'
1:13
Arbace, Idomeneo
20.
'Father, my dearest father. . .'
5:47
Idamante, Idomeneo, Ilia, High Priest
21.
'Your love has triumphed: Idomeneo shall rule no more'
2:32
Voice of Neptune
22.
'The gods show mercy!'
1:11
Idomeneo, Idamante, Ilia, Arbace, Electra
23.
'The woes of my brother invade and destroy me'
3:08
Electra
24.
'Cretans: this shall be the last decree Idomeneo will pronounce'
5:41
Idomeneo
25.
'Bless their love, bless their devotion'
1:23
Chorus
72:49
Solo:Bruce Ford tenor - Idomeneo
Solo:Diana Montague mezzo-soprano - Idamante
Solo: Rebecca Evans soprano - Ilia
Solo: Susan Patterson soprano - Electra
Solo: Ryland Davies tenor - Arbace
Solo: Nicolai Gedda tenor - High Priest of Neptune
Solo: Clive Bayley bass - Voice of Neptune
Choral: Opera North Chorus
Orchestra: Opera North Orchestra
Conductor:David Parry
23-27 June 2003
Notes
King Idomeneus (Idomeneo) is overtaken by a storm as he returns to Crete from the Trojan Wars, and promises that is he is granted safe passage home, he will sacrifice to Poseidon the first living thing on dry land he sees. On the shore he meets Idamante, his own son. Horrified, the king instructs him to flee to Argos with Electra (Agamemnon’s daughter). Electra is in love Idamente and readily agrees, although Idamante is secretly in love with Ilia, the daughter of King Priam, a prisoner on Crete. Poseidon sends a sea monster to Idoeneo to remind him of his vow, but Idamante slays the monster. Ilia offers a sacrifice herself in Idamante’s stead and Poseidon relents.
The writing of Idomeneo was hampered by a number of difficulties – the poorly constructed libretto, the need to compose for a castrato, and the sixty-seven-year-old tenor in the title role who insisted that his arias be completely rewritten. There is much that is old-fashioned in the opera – arias are strictly segregated by passages of recitative and there are a number of coloratura arias which invite the singer to improvise, making the work one of Mozart’s few surviving operas conceived for celebrities who were out to impress.
Yet the opera is remarkable for its orchestral and choral writing and some passages, such as the storm in Act II and the Oracle scene, are of a richness unsurpassed by his later operas. Idomeneo was for many years overshadowed by Mozart’s glorious comedies but is today thought by many to be the greatest opera seria ever written.
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Reviews
Rebecca Evanss Ilia is all one expects from this lovely soprano, the voice pure, intonation secure and musicianship impeccable.
The Sunday Telegraph
Elements of a 2003 Opera North production linger in this recording, to its advantage. Clive Bayley is an imposing Voice of Neptune, Ryland Davies a masterly Arbrace, and the companys orchestra and chorus are both strong.
BBC Music Magazine
Its a coup for Chandos to have secured the great Nicolai Gedda as the high priest. Hes 78 this year, but stills sounds authoritative' and Bruce Fords Idomeneo is probably the best around today in any language. His English diction is immaculate.
Sunday Times
This is a notable addition to Chandos Opera in English series.
The Sunday Telegraph
This latest issue in Chandos Opera in English series boasts an extraordinary Idomeneo in Bruce Ford. The American tenor performs with unfailing musical scrupulousness, vocal flexibility and crystaline textural projection.
International Record Review
The performance, though, is, by and large, excellent, with the confrontation between Bruce Fords Idomeneo and Diana Montagues Idamente generating tremendous power, and Susan Pattersons Elettra declining into insanity with frightening vividness.
The Guardian
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