Mozart: Idomeneo (BR Klassik) - MusicWeb International

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Idomeneo, Opera in 3 acts (1781, revised 1786)
Idomeneo: Andrew Staples (tenor)
Idamante: Magdalena Kožená (mezzo-soprano)
Ilia: Sabine Devieilhe (soprano)
Elettra: Elsa Dreisig (soprano)
Arbace: Linard Vrielink (tenor)
Chor und Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Runfunks/Sir Simon Rattle
rec. live 16, 17 & 19 December 2023, Herkulessaal der Residenz, Munich, Germany
Italian/German libretto only accessible online
BR Klassik 900215 [3 CDs: 180]

I must nail my colours to this ship’s mast right off and state that Idomeneo is my favorite among all of Mozart’s operas. The emotional depth of the work combined with the musical illustrations of each of the participants is so richly rewarding that I never grow tired of hearing it. The downside of this for me is that I find all of the commercial recordings to be flawed in one form or another. I approached this new version with great anticipation and for much of the opera I wasn’t disappointed.

To begin at the summit this is primarily Sir Simon’s show. The love he has for this score is clearly in evidence right from the first note. This is a living breathing account of Mozart’s richest score for which he has chosen the now customary amalgamation of the Munich and Vienna scores. He uses an orchestra with modern instruments, the Bavarian Radio orchestra who are on tip-top form here. Even the choir seems to be especially inspired by Rattle’s energized baton. One could forgive a listener for thinking that the orchestra had suddenly donned period clothes, as their playing is so lithe and sleek at period pitch that they almost sound like a period instrument group; this really is having the best of both worlds. Rattle’s tempi are generally on the fleet side but only that for “Torna la pace” sounded a bit hurried to me. Under Rattle’s leadership many sections sound strikingly original but possibly the most striking to these old ears is the “Fuggiamo” chorus which closes the second act. The different layers of choral and instrumental detail emerge in a way I had never encountered before, which points to Rattle mining more from this score than I would have believed to be possible. Top marks, then, in the conducting department.

This Idomeneo has been cast with great thought and if not every singer succeeds completely, it is worthy to stand on the shelf alongside all of my other Idomeneo CDs. Sabine Devieilhe brings a touching vulnerability to the Trojan Princess Ilia. She also sings the role with a diamantine vocal timbre which provides pure, unalloyed pleasure. Unfortunately the simplicity and beauty of the vocal line in “Se il padre perdei” is completely undone by excessive showy appoggiatura which destroys the mood for this curmudgeonly critic. She is not alone among the cast indulging in this practice.

Andrew Staples’s Idomeneo is securely sung and he attempts to bring real meaning to the recitatives but his youthful, slightly pinched-sounding tenor has me convinced that he would be much better employed in singing Idamante in the Vienna version of this opera. There, his vocal portrayal would be utterly convincing; perhaps he will fit more comfortably in the title role in another ten years or so. Here, he opts to tackle Anton Raaff’s coloratura version of “Fuor del mar”, in which he succeeds reasonably well. He is an improvement on Nicolai Gedda’s effortful account in the Schmidt-Isserstedt recording (review). However, Ian Bostridge for Charles Mackerras, Francisco Araiza for Colin Davis, or Werner Hollweg for Nikolas Harnoncourt all manage to make something more of the virtuoso display that Raaff insisted Mozart give him for the Munich premiere.

Elsa Dreisig’s Elettra is right up there with the best of those on records; that illustrious group includes Felicity Palmer, Julia Varady, Barbara Fritolli, and Edda Moser. Dreisig’s intensely concentrated tone makes her stand out, sounding like a foreigner among the other residents of Crete, and this is exactly as it should be. Her account of “D’Oreste, d’Ajace” is simply stunning and she wins points with me for being the only singer I’ve ever encountered who makes the coloratura passages at the end of the aria actually sound like maniacal laughter. In this she is most convincing.

Magdalena Kožená’s Idamante is a pleasure to encounter again. I note that her voice has barely altered since her 2003 Glyndebourne assumption. She caresses her phrases touchingly and only once, in the opening phrase of the Act Two Trio, does she momentarily falter, betraying the fact that this is taken from live performances.

Linard Vrielink’s fine voice as Arbace is splendidly revealed in the advisor’s two main arias. In his Second Act coloratura aria he conquers the showpiece with great facility, only running a bit short of breath once or twice. This occurs after only a long rapid passage, which leaves his concluding top note sounding somewhat unsupported; this, too, might have been corrected in a studio recording. He sounds convincingly an older man to Staples, which makes me wish he had sung Idomeneo to Kožená’s Idamante.

I must also acknowledge the excellence of Tareq Nazmi’s Oracular Voice (one assumes that it is the voice of Neptune himself). It is only a short offstage appearance but he and Rattle make it something truly earth-shattering.

Although this is a live recording from three concert performances, one is unable to tell other than by a rarely occurring minor slip-up in the ensemble. The sound provided by the Bavarian Radio team of engineers is wonderfully sumptuous, atmospheric and shows a marked improvement on the already good engineering of the same forces for Colin Davis’ 1991 Philips recording.

This would almost be my choice for the most preferable recording of Idomeneo all around. I could even ignore my reservations about Staples in the title role if it wasn’t for the overindulgent approach to appoggiaturas. While I know they are historically correct I do find on this recording they are excessively ornamented and simply too distracting. It is strictly a personal preference but I like my Mozart to be simple and unadorned, If one must have appoggiatura then please let them be tasteful and minimalist, as they are on Gardiner’s Arkiv recording (review). My colleagues Philip Harrison and Michael Cookson welcomed this new version with open arms. In spite of my unyielding attitude towards the appoggiaturas, I am certain that this will make it onto my ROTY list this year. I shall definitely have it revisit my CD player in regular rotation with the Mackerras, Böhm, Gardiner, Davis, and Harnoncourt recordings. All of them are flawed in some way and yet I could not part with any of them.

Mike Parr

Previous reviews: Philip Harrison (September 2025) ~ Michael Cookson (September 2025)

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