The first in a long line of superbly dramatic Mozartean ensembles, a line that includes the Act II quartet in Entführung, the Act II finale in Figaro, the sextet and both finales in Don Giovanni, and the Act I trio and finale in Titus. But Mozart held the Idomeneo quartet in particularly high esteem. He requested three friends to sing it with him as he lay dying, taking the part of Idamante himself with his soprano singing voice that had miraculously remained intact from boyhood. The kaleidoscopic effect of four individual personæ expressing their various thoughts (the King his bitterness toward Poseidon, his son his profound loneliness, Ilia her intention to die with him, and Elettra her thirst for vengeance) and then coming together to lament their suffering, is simultaneously dazzling and heartbreaking. At such moments, Mozart's genius lifts the stiff and formal libretto from second-rate hack work to Elysian perfection. I can't say I have ever heard a subpar performance of this number, and this rendition is certainly a worthy one. Ponnelle's staging clarifies and deepens the relationships amongst the four, while also throwing each character's inner turmoil into painful relief. Elettra's agony as she observes the lovers' obvious devotion, and Idamante's catatonic exit to seek death, are the most vivid portrayals here, aided immensely by Behrens' and von Stade's total immersion in their roles. In a letter to his father, Mozart indignantly recounted Raaff's disdain for the lack of vocal display in this number with the rejoinder 'As if one did not need to speak much more than sing in such a quartet.' A fascinating clue to the composer's true priorities in his dramatic works. Thank you for this affecting upload, Manoli!
My favorite quartet. One of my favorite opera. This was the first staging of Idomeneo by the Met. I read that in the Illiad, Homer, spoke of Idomenus, King of Crete.
Well my friend, You've made my day. Cotrubas, Behrens, Von Stade, & Pavarotti.. this Opera was simulcast live from the Met. The Day the Earth Stood Still LOL. What a stellar cast it was indeed. Our favorute Lyric Soprano Cotrubas 👑💙. With a voice of a perfect blend of truth & great artistry. Behrens was so great as Electra that she brought the house down. Von Stade was a Beautiful Prince Idamante. And Pavarotti as Idomeneo as interesting. Those were the days my friend we thought they'd never end. 😢🙏😢🙏🎹🎶🎼. Grazie Arnold 💙
@@manolis.799 Well I saw Cotrubas, Von Stade & Pavarotti. So 3 out of 4 ain't bad. I have the Opera on VCR tape and on audio. So many operas on tape back in 38. My daughter in particular loved Cotrubas and would sing along with het Traviata that she later. bought on CD. Arnold
@@manolis.799 so many people say that but she was always singing at thr greatest Opera Houses in the world. Especially Vienna & Covent Garden. She had a great career. And seeing her live I felt I had been transported. That voice was just incredibly beautiful. That was in Chicago late 70s. Arnold
@@arnoldamaral7406 you’re right, she had a fantastic career, I am mainly speaking from my own experience, I don’t see her mentioned in discussion these days as much as I wish she was. Of course most fans my age don’t know who she is at all, and that goes for 90% of the singers on my channel sadly enough.
Idamante: Dunque io me n’andrò! Ma dove? O Ilia! O genitor! Ilia: (risoluta) O seguirti o morir, mio ben, vogl’io. Idamante: Deh, resta, o cara, e vivi in pace. Addio! No. 21 QUARTETTO Idamante: Andrò ramingo e solo, Morte cercando altrove, Fin che la incontrerò. Ilia: M’avrai compagna al duolo, Dove sarai e dove Tu moia, io morirò. Idamante: Ah, no! Idomeneo: Nettun spietato! Chi per pietà m’uccide? Elettra: (da sé) Quando vendetta avrò? Ilia, Idamante: (ad Idomeneo) Serena il ciglio irato. Ilia, Idamante, Idomeneo: Ah, il cor mi si divide! Ilia, Elettra, Idamante, Idomeneo: Soffrir più non si può. Peggio è di morte Sì gran dolore. Più fiera sorte, Pena maggiore Nissun provò. Idamante: Andrò ramingo e solo … Ilia, Elettra, Idamante, Idomeneo: Soffrir più non si può, no … (Idamante parte addolorato.)
I have no clue which recording I would recommend. All of them seem to be a mixed bag of both great and horrible singers from my experience. This one isn’t the perfect representation of a Mozart period performance but it probably has the safest cast with these lovely principals + John Alexander. The Schmidt-Isserstedt is mostly safe as well. And I’m not fond of the version where Idamante is a tenor, why this opera needs another tenor is beyond my understanding. Sadly Mozart never got to make the version where the title role was to be sung by a bass, Ludwig Fischer, who originated Osmin.
For me, the problem with Idomeneo recordings is that so few of them took the opera seriously from a textual point of view. The first set that offered a note-complete text was Nikolaus Harnoncourt's 1980 recording, if you count the separate supplemental disc. Unfortunately, Harnoncourt's cast is seriously undermined by inadequate singers in the roles of Ilia and Idamante. We had to wait another ten years for Gardiner's set starring Anthony Rolfe Johnson. Again, it's a mixed bag, but IMO is probably the best overall recording of this sadly underrated and somewhat disrespected work.
@@jasonhurd4379 i must say, i love the older pritchard recording because of sena. For me she is the best Ilia. There is also a live recording with Sena as Electra and Della Casa as Ilia (from 1971), but for me Della Casa sings more like Arabella :D
I don’t know if I could pick a “weakest” or “strongest” per say. Would be like picking my favorite Sopranos episode, single malt scotch, or Johnny Cash song... impossible 🙂
Ponelle used this quasi-classical Grecian style for his other Mozart productions, most notably in Figaro, where the Countess wore something similar in Act ll.
![[MV] A leap of faith...ความเชื่อใจครั้งสุดท้าย (From "Petrichor the series")](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U1piZH2CNXA/mqdefault.jpg)
The first in a long line of superbly dramatic Mozartean ensembles, a line that includes the Act II quartet in Entführung, the Act II finale in Figaro, the sextet and both finales in Don Giovanni, and the Act I trio and finale in Titus. But Mozart held the Idomeneo quartet in particularly high esteem. He requested three friends to sing it with him as he lay dying, taking the part of Idamante himself with his soprano singing voice that had miraculously remained intact from boyhood. The kaleidoscopic effect of four individual personæ expressing their various thoughts (the King his bitterness toward Poseidon, his son his profound loneliness, Ilia her intention to die with him, and Elettra her thirst for vengeance) and then coming together to lament their suffering, is simultaneously dazzling and heartbreaking. At such moments, Mozart's genius lifts the stiff and formal libretto from second-rate hack work to Elysian perfection. I can't say I have ever heard a subpar performance of this number, and this rendition is certainly a worthy one. Ponnelle's staging clarifies and deepens the relationships amongst the four, while also throwing each character's inner turmoil into painful relief. Elettra's agony as she observes the lovers' obvious devotion, and Idamante's catatonic exit to seek death, are the most vivid portrayals here, aided immensely by Behrens' and von Stade's total immersion in their roles. In a letter to his father, Mozart indignantly recounted Raaff's disdain for the lack of vocal display in this number with the rejoinder 'As if one did not need to speak much more than sing in such a quartet.' A fascinating clue to the composer's true priorities in his dramatic works. Thank you for this affecting upload, Manoli!
I did not know that Mozart sang this on his deathbed, that truly says it all!
@@manolis.799 Word.
@@manolis.799 Yes, indeed!
Beautifully said!
What an informative comment, dear Jason! I thank you.
My favorite quartet. One of my favorite opera. This was the first staging of Idomeneo by the Met. I read that in the Illiad, Homer, spoke of Idomenus, King of Crete.
Yes indeed!
Well my friend, You've made my day. Cotrubas, Behrens, Von Stade, & Pavarotti.. this Opera was simulcast live from the Met. The Day the Earth Stood Still LOL. What a stellar cast it was indeed. Our favorute Lyric Soprano Cotrubas 👑💙. With a voice of a perfect blend of truth & great artistry. Behrens was so great as Electra that she brought the house down. Von Stade was a Beautiful Prince Idamante. And Pavarotti as Idomeneo as interesting. Those were the days my friend we thought they'd never end. 😢🙏😢🙏🎹🎶🎼. Grazie Arnold 💙
It’s my pleasure to make your day! I wish the days of artists of this caliber had never ended, unfortunately I wasn’t there for them.
@@manolis.799 Well I saw Cotrubas, Von Stade & Pavarotti. So 3 out of 4 ain't bad. I have the Opera on VCR tape and on audio. So many operas on tape back in 38. My daughter in particular loved Cotrubas and would sing along with het Traviata that she later. bought on CD. Arnold
@@arnoldamaral7406 I love Cotrubas as well. A very underrated artist with a beautiful voice and technique
@@manolis.799 so many people say that but she was always singing at thr greatest Opera Houses in the world. Especially Vienna & Covent Garden. She had a great career. And seeing her live I felt I had been transported. That voice was just incredibly beautiful. That was in Chicago late 70s. Arnold
@@arnoldamaral7406 you’re right, she had a fantastic career, I am mainly speaking from my own experience, I don’t see her mentioned in discussion these days as much as I wish she was. Of course most fans my age don’t know who she is at all, and that goes for 90% of the singers on my channel sadly enough.
Thank you, dear Manoli. It's great!
My pleasure friend
yes, wow, This is great singing!!! And Mozart! Ahhhhhhh love Love LOVE!
My pleasure. I noticed this excerpt wasn’t on TH-cam from this production and thought I should remedy that ;)
Idamante:
Dunque io me n’andrò! Ma dove? O Ilia!
O genitor!
Ilia:
(risoluta)
O seguirti o morir, mio ben, vogl’io.
Idamante:
Deh, resta, o cara, e vivi in pace. Addio!
No. 21 QUARTETTO
Idamante:
Andrò ramingo e solo,
Morte cercando altrove,
Fin che la incontrerò.
Ilia:
M’avrai compagna al duolo,
Dove sarai e dove
Tu moia, io morirò.
Idamante:
Ah, no!
Idomeneo:
Nettun spietato!
Chi per pietà m’uccide?
Elettra:
(da sé)
Quando vendetta avrò?
Ilia, Idamante:
(ad Idomeneo)
Serena il ciglio irato.
Ilia, Idamante, Idomeneo:
Ah, il cor mi si divide!
Ilia, Elettra, Idamante, Idomeneo:
Soffrir più non si può.
Peggio è di morte
Sì gran dolore.
Più fiera sorte,
Pena maggiore
Nissun provò.
Idamante:
Andrò ramingo e solo …
Ilia, Elettra, Idamante, Idomeneo:
Soffrir più non si può, no …
(Idamante parte addolorato.)
oh, thanks !! the best Idomeneo rec. is for me the Pritchard with Sena and Simoneau :)
The Schmidt-Isserstedt on EMI is also excellent, as is Colin Davis' first recording, the one starring George Shirley.
I have no clue which recording I would recommend. All of them seem to be a mixed bag of both great and horrible singers from my experience. This one isn’t the perfect representation of a Mozart period performance but it probably has the safest cast with these lovely principals + John Alexander. The Schmidt-Isserstedt is mostly safe as well. And I’m not fond of the version where Idamante is a tenor, why this opera needs another tenor is beyond my understanding. Sadly Mozart never got to make the version where the title role was to be sung by a bass, Ludwig Fischer, who originated Osmin.
For me, the problem with Idomeneo recordings is that so few of them took the opera seriously from a textual point of view. The first set that offered a note-complete text was Nikolaus Harnoncourt's 1980 recording, if you count the separate supplemental disc. Unfortunately, Harnoncourt's cast is seriously undermined by inadequate singers in the roles of Ilia and Idamante. We had to wait another ten years for Gardiner's set starring Anthony Rolfe Johnson. Again, it's a mixed bag, but IMO is probably the best overall recording of this sadly underrated and somewhat disrespected work.
@@jasonhurd4379 i must say, i love the older pritchard recording because of sena. For me she is the best Ilia. There is also a live recording with Sena as Electra and Della Casa as Ilia (from 1971), but for me Della Casa sings more like Arabella :D
Cotrubas' costume looks like it was based on Callas's Lucia.
What casting. Behrens was probably the weakest, and imagine that.
I don’t know if I could pick a “weakest” or “strongest” per say. Would be like picking my favorite Sopranos episode, single malt scotch, or Johnny Cash song... impossible 🙂
I agree and it is not the first time she used a dress like this one
@@manolis.799 Behrens rocked as Electra artistically. 🎵🎼🎶💙 Arnold
Ponelle used this quasi-classical Grecian style for his other Mozart productions, most notably in Figaro, where the Countess wore something similar in Act ll.