Programme Booklet »Idomeneo«

WOLFGANG A M ADEUS MOZART

IDOMENEO

CONTENTS

P.

4

SYNOPSIS P.

6

“I OFTEN ADMIRE THE SILVERPOINT IN MOZART” INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTOPH ESCHENBACH P.

10

“IT IS ALL ABOUT PEOPLE” INTERVIEW WITH KASPER HOLTEN P.

16

IDOMÉNÉE, ROI DE CRETE FÉNELON

P.

18

THE OPERA’S CHARACTERS IN MYTHOLOGY OLIVER LÁNG P.

20

THE GUILT OF MEN AND THE PUNISHMENT OF THE GODS KONRAD PAUL LIESSMANN P.

26

IDOMENEO IN THE TROJAN WAR HOMER P.

30

“COURAGE AND EFFORT IN EQUAL MEASURE...”

ANDREAS LÁNG P.

35

IMPRINT

WOLFGANG A M ADEUS MOZART

IDOMENEO, RÈ DI CRETA DRAMMA PER MUSICA in tre atti Libretto GIAMBATTISTA VARESCO

ORCHESTRA

2 flutes / piccolo 2 clarinets / 2 oboes 2 bassoons / 4 horns 2 trumpets / percussion violin I / violin II viola / cello / double bass / fortepiano

STAGE ORCHESTRA

3 trombones / 2 horns

AUTOGRAPH Acts 1 and 2: Biblioteka Jagiellońska Cracow Act 3: Berlin State Library – Prussian Cultural Heritage

WORLD PREMIÈRE 29 JAN 1781 Munich Court Theatre (Cuvilliés Theatre) FIRST PERFORMANCE IN THE HOUSE ON THE RING Vienna Court Opera

DURATION

3 H 30 M

25 OCT 1879

INCL. 2 INTERMISSIONS

IDEOMENEO

SYNOPSIS

The Trojan war is over. Idomeneo, king of Crete and victorious general of the Greek forces, is sailing home. However, a storm prevents him from arriving safely. The raging seas only abate when he swears that if saved from death he will sacrifice the first human whom he encounters on land. However, this first human turns out to be his son, Idamante. Idamante is in love with the Trojan king’s daughter, Ilia, who is living on Crete as a prisoner of war; and she is in love with him too. However, Elettra, who fled from Argos after murdering her mother and has sought refuge in Crete, is also in love with Idamante and believes that she will win him for her own.

To save his son from being sacrificed, Idomeneo plans to send him and Elettra to Argos, where they will rule as the new royal couple. His plan fails, and Crete is afflicted by destruction and chaos. Idomeneo vacillates between sacrificing his son and saving his people. When he decides in favour of his people and against this son, Ilia stops the sacrifice, offering herself in his place. However, this does not occur. Idamante breaks free of his overpowering father and together with Ilia takes over the rule of Crete. Idomeneo and Elettra succumb to the demons of their past.

Previous pages: SCENE

4

MARIA BENGTSSON as ELETTRA

ANDREAS LÁNG IN AN INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTOPH ESCHENBACH (CONDUCTOR)

“I OFTEN ADMIRE THE SILVERPOINT IN MOZART” al

How does one recognise the French influence in Mozart’s Idomeneo, and how much was it influenced by Gluck and other composers? ce Rameau had a greater influence on Idomeneo than Gluck, for example: seamless transitions between recitatives and arias, continuous dramatic momentum. al Why did you decide to change the order of the arias in the score for the current production? ce We did so in order to bring out the relationships between the characters.

And so, for instance, we moved Ilia’s ”Zeffiretti” aria to the beginning of act 2, before the ensuing love duet between Ilia and Idamante. al To what extent do the arias in Idomeneo reveal fully rounded characters, and to what extent to they reflect developments in the characters? ce I think all the characters undergo an emotional development at least –

like Idamante and Idomeneo after their tragic meeting when they recognise one another. al Are the secondary arias any less interesting than those of the leading characters? ce Certainly. It was precisely for this reason that we drastically shortened the role of Arbace – and because his aria tends to hold up the story, though this is not the case with his recitative “Sventurata Sidon”, for instance. al How much psychological char­ acterisation does the music con­ tain? ce Psychological characterisation can be found everywhere in Idomeneo, especially in the accompagnati recitatives, which are more fully composed than in any of Mozart’s other operas. al To what extent does your per­ sonal development over the course of time change your ap­ proach to compositions in gen­ eral, and to Idomeneo in particu­ lar?

6

“I OF T EN A DM I R E T H E SI LV ER P OI N T I N MOZ A RT ”

ce I think that I am developing continually, thank heavens, and so the works I become immersed in, so to speak, are also subject to this constant development and manifestation of impressions. Hence this this also includes Idomeneo, of course! al What differentiates Idomeneo from the early operas that preceded it, and what distinguishes it from later works like Titus? ce Idomeneo was Mozart’s first “grand opera” – he even called it that himself. It is full of new approaches, packed with previously unheard riches, full of surprises – and also packed with visionary passages. You only have to think of the truly revolutionary choruses! Clemenza di Tito is more serene and has fewer such progressive youthful allures! al To what extent does it bother you in practice that even Mozart was bound to certain singers in the composition of his operas? ce Mozart really made the best of it: no other composer would have been so successful in this. al Is the figure of Idomeneo por­ trayed as a king by the music? In other words, is his music “regal”, so to speak? ce Yes, of course it is! However, during the course of the piece he is increasingly plagued by doubts and fears. al In Titus the grosso modo ensem­ ble passages are better than the arias. What is the situation with respect to Idomeneo? ce In Idomeneo the quality of the ensemble passages (the trios and quartets, for example) is very balanced in relation to the arias. al Choruses play a significant part in the opera Idomeneo. Where does their quality lie?

ce The choruses – especially “Corriamo, fuggiamo”, “Qual nuovo terrore”, “o voto tremendo” or the idea of the distant chorus in “Pietà, numi, pietà” – are almost evocative of Verdi! al Many members of the audience allow their attention to lapse during the recitativo secco. How can one retain their interest?

Are there better and worse qual­ ities of reci­tativo secco? Are those in Idome­neo better than those in Clemenza di Tito – which, of course, were not by Mozart? ce The recitativo secco passages in Idomeneo are charged with emotion, and performers must interpret every conceivable nuance so that there can never be any question of boredom. And yes, they are better than the ones in La clemenza di Tito! al Mozart is said to have made a tremendous breakthrough in the instrumentation of Idomeneo. How is this apparent? ce In the countless dynamic designations and in the free composition of the accompagnati or in the storm scene “Qual nuovo terrore”, which is almost reminiscent of Beethoven’s thunderstorm in the Pastorale – amongst other things in his use of the piccolo! al How interesting are the modi­ fications to the Idomeneo score which Mozart planned, but then no longer implemented? ce I prefer to take Idomeneo in the form we have – even if there are two versions. al How interesting do you find Richard Strauss’ adaptation of Idomeneo? ce Notwithstanding my love of Strauss, and Strauss’ great love of Mozart, it simply isn’t Mozart.

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“I OF T EN A DM I R E T H E SI LV ER P OI N T I N MOZ A RT ”

al

How does Mozart’s dramatic power find expression, taking Idomeneo as an example? Does it reveal itself in formal aspects? ce Not so much in formal aspects – apart from occasional abrupt transitions as I already mentioned – as in its emotional power, such as the father-son relationship, Idamante’s state of mind, in the characters’ fear of the forces of nature. al Do you think there was a heyday in the history of opera? Some people might consider this to be Mozart, others Wagner? Where would you place it, and why? ce Mozart, Verdi, Wagner. The question of “why” is superfluous! al You once called your teacher Szell an illustrator, Karajan a painter? Which do you tend to see yourself as? ce As both. al And which is better suited for Mozart? ce I often admire the silverpoint in Mozart. al Do you still experience some­ thing like a fear of not being able to meet your own expectations? ce It is not fear, just a continual challenge, which is a good thing. al Viktor Frankl once said: When a man dies, prays and loves, he is so intimate that we should not observe him. It is not similar when making music? Or to put it another way, It is one not very vulnerable as a conductor or a performer when one opens up to the music? ce Yes, one is vulnerable, but the more you open up to the music, the more it also protects you! al Do you sometimes experience, even today, the tremendous

impression you once had as a child at a concert conducted by Furtwängler? ce The impression of great music overwhelms me at each of my performances. I cannot avoid it, and this is what I live for! al Are there certain states of mind that are better suited for certain composers? What happens if you are not attuned to the music which you have to conduct? ce I never conduct a work to which I am not fully attuned, or shall we say, I attune myself completely to the work I have to conduct! al You say that music should be the engine of the world – what do you mean by that? ce Our objective should be to make the world and people more humane by means of music and through music. al Are there composers and works which you initially appreciated more than today, and vice versa? ce Not really! al As a child you had an obsession for music – and probably still do so today. In such a case is disci­ pline unnecessary when lear­ ning an instrument, or a piece, because it is replaced by obses­ sion? ce Oh no – obsession is merely a driving force, albeit a powerful one! But discipline, hard work, demands on oneself, analysis of the works (sometimes even an analysis of the obsession!) are necessary to a high degree: otherwise the result is chaos.

The interview took place before the premiere in 2014.

8

KS MICHAEL SCHADE as IDOMENEO

OLIVER LÁNG IN AN INTERVIEW WITH KASPER HOLTEN (STAGE DIRECTOR)

“IT IS ALL ABOUT PEOPLE!” ol

You are a successful stage direc­ tor and a successful director of opera. But your day too has only 24 hours. How do you manage to do both jobs in just 24 hours? kh I like the combination of director of opera/stage director. I have been doing this for 14 years, first in Copenhagen and now, for the last three years, in London at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. For me, the one has always facilitated and complemented the other. Working as a stage director, I learn about artistic questions and I deliver myself up directly to the audience and to a certain extent take the risk upon myself for the final applause. This benefits the director of opera because he constantly experiences the artistic side of opera. Conversely, as director of opera I have to deal with the world outside the theatre, with society, with people, with general management issues.

This gives me an advantage as a stage director, because as artists in a theatre we constantly run the risk of regarding our own work as the most important and ultimate thing and forgetting the rest of the world. Apart from that, as a stage director I become familiar with other opera houses and always come

back to London filled with new inspiration. Naturally for me to do this i need the team at the ROH to help me and ensure that everything continues to run smoothly during my absences. ol Do you as a stage director have a list of works in mind that you want to direct, or do you wait for offers and then make a choice? kh It’s the other way around. I do have a list of works in mind that I absolutely do not want to direct. Works that I perhaps love, but they are simply not right for me. For example Puccini. Such a wonderful composer, but I have never staged one of his operas. I love Bohème above all else, but am I the right man to direct it? Not yet. For this opera, I simply need to be older. Today I would overload it and do too much. That would not be good for Bohème. Or Parsifal. A fantastic work, but I have rejected offers to direct it twice already, because I am not ready for it. Turandot: an opera with great moments, but I don’t care that much for the story. I would have to work against that, which I basically do not want to do. So I prefer to leave it alone. ol But you do not shy away from “difficult” operas...

10

“IT IS ALL ABOUT PEOPLE!”

kh No, precisely the opposite. For example Idomeneo. It is not an easy opera, because I have to grapple with it honestly and in depth. Alone the question of the version is a key issue. With Figaro and Così there are more or less set versions, and all that is open for discussion is one or the other cut. Don Giovanni is similar: there is a Vienna version and a Prague version, and a combination of the two. But there is a relatively concrete basis. With Idomeneo, by contrast, Mozart did not arrive at a truly final version. He was still cutting and adding numbers shortly before the première in Munich. Later he wrote additional arias for Vienna. He had not yet arrived at a final form, and so – at least this is how I imagine it – if he had reached the age of 70, like Verdi, he might have revised the opera again.

Naturally we don’t know what Mozart would really have done, but I think we have a responsibility to pose ourselves the question of good form. ol A final general question: When you accept an engagement, do you immediately have a basic idea in mind? kh It differs a lot. Sometimes a work inspires me directly, such that an idea literally springs to mind. With other operas, I have to delve into them. For example, with Frau ohne Schatten I spent two years with my set designer and the dramaturg, and I gradually found my way into the opera. ol How did it work with Idomeneo? kh From the start, it was clear how great the material is. First, of course, there is the music, where we experience a mature Mozart. Then, the work present numerous connecting factors: the father-son relationship, the war and above all its consequences, the Romeo

and Juliet story, the relationship of victor and loser. ol From the point of view of the drama, Idomeneo is not a simple work. And doesn’t the form of opera seria pose a special chal­ lenge for the director? kh Idomeneo is not a psychologically realistic piece, as Le nozze di Figaro is. The form of opera seria means, to exaggerate a little, that the important action takes place rather fast behind the scenes and the protagonists then sing about their feelings. This involves the danger of stasis and in particular the temptation for audience members to lean back and enjoy the music, without reflecting on the actual situation on the stage and – above all – what the music happens to be saying about relationships, pain, loss. If you as a director think: “Oh God, now there is a seven-minute long aria, what shall I do?” and you send two dancing clowns onto the stage to make people forget that performers are singing at that moment – that is wrong and stupid because it shows that you don’t trust the music. But the music is why we come! So as a director, you have to find ways to show what the text means, what the music is saying, what the drama is about. ol So it’s all about bringing the piece to life? kh Yes. What is Idomeneo about? It is about people who come home after a long, terrible, fateful war – one that is still talked about to this day – but still carry the burden of events with them.

They all have a certain amount of baggage that they cannot get rid of. Ilia for example has lost her homeland; she has watched as her people and her family were murdered. Or Elettra, whose tragic

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KASPER HOLTEN IN AN INTERVIEW

story we know from other operas. And Idomeneo himself, who sings in his very first aria: I see about me a lamenting shade. He has many murders on his conscience and is in a certain sense infected by death. That is precisely what we put on the stage: how everyone struggles and toils to free themselves from the past. To find a new beginning.

Only one character has no burden to bear, and that is Idamante. That is why everyone needs him so desperately. ol Between all these stage heroes, anti-heroes, is there one that that you have a particular affec­ tion for? Have you identified a sympathetic figure? kh As a stage director, I am not in favour of putting labels on characters.

It is easy to say: this person is a villain, that one a hero. But life is not quite that straightforward. So for me there is no appealing character par excellence. We say for example time and again that Elettra is “evil”. In my opinion, that is not entirely correct. I believe that she is a woman who has suffered greatly and who now hopes to start a new life with Idamante, whom she is to marry. When she sees how he flirts with Ilia, she loses this hope too. For his part, Idomeneo commits evil acts, but he is not an evil man per se. He returns from war as a corrupt king and cannot relinquish the power he has held for so long. He does not understand that it is time for him to step down. It’s a problem that many powerful people have, because power corrupts. ol If power corrupts, does that then mean that Idamante will also not remain good in the long run? kh Everyone who has or exercises power has the experience that you can

quickly become accustomed to it and it then seems entirely natural. Everyone, regardless whether ruler or for example director. You learn quickly what it is like to be a VIP and how it feels when people know that you have power. This knowledge changes you. The question is: What do you do with that knowledge? Whom do you select as advisor?

Who can tell you when you forget to be human? Do you have a room where you can reflect on what you are doing? After all, we should not forget that everyone who holds power has a bent to megalomania; they must have it, or they would not even achieve this position. Unfortunately Mozart never wrote a sequel to Idomeneo, a Part II. So we don’t know how Idamante will fare. Pity. ol But we can make assumptions. kh Yes, we can do that. I imagine that he will unfortunately be a weak king, a kind of Don Carlos. One who has such a complex about his father that he cannot escape it. Ilia will be the stronger of the two of them. I think that she will more often sit in state council than he. She will be a kind of Elizabeth I or a Margaret of Denmark. Good and strong. ol Can the Idomeneo-Idamante re­ lationship be compared to that between Mozart and his father? kh You do at least notice that the father-son theme was very strong for Mozart. Idamante looks forward so much to his father’s return, he has such enormous expectations, he has imagined so much. He see in him the great, successful general, a role model. And then his father returns after ten years and rejects him. That is painful, but he loves him nonetheless. And he cannot emerge from the shadow of this overwhelming father, he is not strong enough to fight this personality.

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“IT IS ALL ABOUT PEOPLE!”

ol

Together with Christoph Eschen­ bach, you have changed the se­ quence of the numbers in the opera in two places. kh We had a few problems with the relation ship between Ilia and Idamante. The love affair develops very slowly, and the actual declaration of love occurs very late; it is very drawn out and hesitant, and there are flaws in the logic and sense if you use the aria “non temer” that Mozart wrote for Vienna. in addition to that, in the third act Ilia complains about being in love at a time when the world around her is already lost in chaos. That detracts from the appeal of the love story. So we moved the love story to a different place.

The second change involves a dramaturgical issue. We hear in the opera that Ida­mante has killed the sea monster, but

it has no consequences for his personal fate. Nevertheless, his life is not saved.

That makes no sense to me. We therefore made a small switch at this point to create a more logical flow in the action. ol Although the sea monster is not a sea monster in the traditional sense. kh No, for me the monster is the ill, corrupt king, who cannot choose between his people and his son – thereby causing the nation to suffer. If this situation were maintained, it would lead to civil war and even more chaos and suffering. Idamante must therefore take action to free the people and kill the “monster”: a symbolic patricide and disempowerment of the old king.

The interview took place before the premiere in 2014.

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Following pages:

RACHEL FRENKEL as IDAMANTE

BERNARD RICHTER as IDOMENEO

FÉNELON

IDOMÉNÉE,

ROI DE CRETE Idomeneo, Deucalion’s son and grandson of Minos, set out with the other princes of Greece on an expedition against Troy. The city fell, and he set sail to return to Crete. On this voyage he encountered a storm so violent that the helmsman and all on board who were skilled in navigation believed their shipwreck to be inevitable. Every man looked death in the face; every one thought he saw the abyss open to swallow him, and every one bemoaned their misfortune, which removed all hope of ever achieving that sad rest to which the spirits of the dead are admitted across Styx. Idomeneo lifted his hands and his eyes to heaven, and, invoking Neptune, called out: “Mighty deity, who governs the dominions of the deep, hear me in my utmost distress! If you will protect me from the fury of the waves and restore me in safety to my country, I will sacrifice to you the first living object that I see on my return!”

In the meantime, filled with filial affection, his son hurried to meet him, looking forward to receiving his father’s embrace once more. Unfortunate youth! Little did he know, that to hasten to his father was to rush into destruction. Idomeneo, escaping the tempest, arrived at his port, and gave thanks to Neptune for his deliverance.

Having heard his vow, Neptune was appeased. However, Idomeneo soon re-

alised the fatal consequences that vow would have. A sense of foreboding overcame him; terrible doubts made him repent his rash promise. He dreaded his arrival among his people. The thought of meeting those who were most dear to him filled him with horror. But Nemesis, a cruel and unrelenting goddess who seizes every opportunity to punish mankind and delights in humbling the mighty and the proud, drove him forward with a fatal and invisible hand. He stepped from his ship to the shore, but hardly had he raised his gaze when his eyes fell upon his son. He started back, pale and trembling. He looked in every direction to find another victim whom he held less dear, but it was too late. His son leapt forward and threw his arms around his neck. He was amazed when his father, instead of returning his embrace, stood motionless, and at length burst into tears.

“Father!” he said, “what is the cause of your sorrow? After so long an absence, does it pain you to return to your people and make your son happy? Tell me how have i offended you? You turn your eyes from me as if you loathe me or cannot bear to look at me!” His father, overwhelmed with grief, was not yet able to reply, but merely sighed several times, until finally he cried out: “O Neptune! What have I promised you! What was the price for rescuing me from ship-

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IDOMÉNÉE, ROI DE CRETE

wreck! Leave me again to the waves and the rocks! Let me be dashed to pieces, and swallowed in the deep; but save my son!’ He then unsheathed his sword, and attempted to plunge it into his breast, but those who stood near him held his hand back. Sophronimus, an aged prophet who had long interpreted the will of the gods, assured him that Neptune might be satisfied without the need for his son to die. “Your vow,” he said, “was rash: the gods are not honoured, but offended by cruelty. Do not therefore add one crime to another and violate the laws of nature to fulfil a vow that it was a crime to make. Select a hundred bulls, whiter than snow; decorate the altar of Neptune with flowers; let these victims be your innocent offering, and let a cloud of incense rise in honour of the god.”

Idomeneo heard this in silence, his head bowed. His eyes sparkled with fury, his face grew pale, his colour changed every moment, and his whole body shook. His son said to him: “Father, I stand here. Your son is ready to die to appease the god to whom you made this vow; do not bring his vengeance upon yourself. If your life can be saved with mine, I will die content: strike, then, Father! And do not fear that, as the end approaches, I shall prove myself an unworthy son and fear death.” At that moment Idomeneo, as if roused by infernal furies, surprised all around him and plunged his sword in his son’s heart. While it was still warm and covered in blood, he tried again to plunge it into his own breast. In this he was again prevented. The youth, who immediately fell, lay in his own blood.

The shades of death crept across his eyes; he attempted to open them, but

not being able to bear the light, they were immediately closed in eternal darkness. A lily of the field, when its root is cut away by the plough, falls to the ground, being no longer supported by the stalk; and though it does not immediately lose all its beauty, it no longer receives nourishment from the earth, and its life is extinguished. Thus fell the son of Idomeneo, cut down like a flower by an untimely stroke, though he was of tender years. His father, blind with grief, knew neither where he was, nor what he had done, nor what he ought to do. He walked with faltering steps towards the city and inquired eagerly after his child. In the meantime, moved with pity for the youth and with horror at the father’s cruelty, the people cried out that the justice of the gods had given him up to the Furies. In their rage they immediately took up weapons; one snatched a stick, others caught up a stone, and discord filled every heart with its deadly poison. The Cretans, however wise, forgot all temperance that was usually their way. Idomeneo’s friends saw no other path than to lead him back to the fleet to save him from the people’s fury. They went on board with him and once more committed themselves to the mercy of the waves.

They fled. As soon as he recovered from his frenzy, Idomeneo thanked them for having forced him to leave a country that he had stained with the blood of his son and where therefore he could not bear to live. The winds carried them to the coast of Hesperia, and they are now forming a new state in the land of the Salentines.

From: François de Salignac de la Mothe Fénelon, Aventures de Télémaque

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OLIVER LÁNG

THE OPERA’S CHARACTERS IN MYTHOLOGY The story of Idomeneo starts with the Trojan war, from which Cretan king Idomeneo is returning home. With the help of the gods Apollo and Poseidon, King Laomedon had built impregnable walls around Troy, which at the beginning of the story relevant to the opera was ruled by King Priam. However, after building the wall, his father, Laomedon, had defrauded Apollo and Poseidon of their reward, earning their particular antagonism for himself and above all for the city (Apollo later changed sides). In a terrifying vision, Priam’s wife Hecuba foresaw the destruction of the city of Troy, at the hand of her son Paris. To avoid this fate, Paris was cast out and left to die; however a slave rescued him and brought him up.

As ill fortune would have it, this Paris grew up to be a particularly handsome man, so handsome that three goddesses asked him which of them he thought was the most beautiful: Hera, Pallas Athene and Aphrodite. Paris, still young, chose the third, the goddess of beauty and love, selecting her over Hera (who promised him power) and Pallas Athene (wisdom). And so he gained two more powerful divine enemies...

In the meantime, Paris had been found and taken in again by his parents. He went off on a war expedition, and while away he met Helen. Helen was moderately happily married to King Menelaus and at the time was unguarded. She was also exceptionally beautiful. In addition to Menelaus’ gold, Paris and his friends stole Menelaus’ wife. However, as they fled home they encountered Poseidon, who confirmed the prophesy about the destruction of Troy – referring also to the abduction of women.

Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon – the Atrides – immediately took up arms for revenge, but when they were on the point of departure with many of their allies and Greek heroes, Agamemnon killed a doe consecrated to Artemis.

The goddess in turn immediately punished the Greeks with a lasting wind calm that could only be remedied by the sacrifice of Iphigenia, the daughter of Agamemnon. Despite all the protests of his wife Clytemnestra, Agamemnon was willing to carry out the sacrifice.

Although Artemis relented at the last minute, saving Iphigenia and taking her with her, Clytemnestra could not forgive her husband Agamemnon for the deed he had planned and intended to carry out.

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T H E OP E R A’ S C H A R AC T E R S I N M Y T HOL O G Y

The wind came up and drove the ships of the Greek forces towards Troy.

The Greeks laid siege to Troy for ten years, until they were finally able to take the city by means of a cunning ploy devised by Odysseus. After they had returned home, Poseidon caused the sea to well up over the walls of the city and destroy all that the Greeks had spared.

But Clytemnestra had still not forgiven her husband; on the contrary, she took a new husband, Aegisthus, with whom she ruled the country. When Agamemnon returned from Troy after ten years, he was deceived by Clytemnestra and Aegisthus; suspecting nothing, he was murdered by the two of them in his bath. Aegisthus now officially assumed the role of king. Before Agamemnon was murdered by Aegisthus, his son Orestes was brought to safety, thanks to the foresight of his sister Electra.

From that point on, Electra lived in the Mycenaean palace, with a smouldering enmity for her mother and Aegisthus, and waited for Orestes’ return. When he finally returned home, years later, he killed his mother Clytemnestra and her second husband Aegisthus, as punishment for murdering his father Agamemnon. Orestes’ punishment for the double murder was that he was pursued by the goddesses of revenge, the Erinyes, and was only much later redeemed by Pallas Athene.

Idomeneo was king of Crete and commander of the Cretan forces in the Trojan war. He was descended directly from Zeus and was the son of Deucalion and the grandson of Minos. He had a special connection to Troy and Helen, as he had been one of Helen’s suitors, but he was not amongst the finalists for her hand due to his age. Idomeneo was considered a strong and coura-

geous hero, even if he was not amongst the very best and most important: he therefore baulked at a single combat with Aeneas. He set sail for Troy with a huge army – according to reports, with 80 ships, an unusually large number.

In the course of the war, Poseidon appeared to him and advised him to fight more relentlessly against the Trojans.

Idomeneo had acquired a special status during this ten-year war as he was one of the heroes who was concealed in the Trojan horse and thereby initiated the downfall of the city. There are two different versions of the story of his voyage home: while one storyline reports a direct and peaceful passage home, another recounts how he encountered a perilous storm that destroyed almost his entire fleet. Only with a fatal vow – that if he were saved he would sacrifice the first living creature he met when he reached land – does Idomeneo succeed in weathering the storm. That first living creature, however, was his son, Idamante. The punishment or penance for this deed was the loss of his royal dignity and banishment from his home: Idomeneo therefore spent the remainder of his life on the south coast of Italy.

Ilia came from the Trojan royal family. Her father was the above mentioned, last and unfortunate King Priam, who had to witness the destruction of his city. Priam’s first wife was Arisbe, his second was the also previously mentioned Hecuba. These unions brought forth a total of 19 children, including the famous hero Hector and the prophetess Cassandra. In all, Priam had more than 50 children, both from his marriages and from various affairs. As the king’s daughter, Ilia was a particularly attractive prisoner for the Greeks – and also “war booty“.

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KON R A D PAU L LIE S SM A N N

THE GUILT

OF MEN AND THE PUNISHMENT OF THE GODS Idomeneo, king of Crete, finds himself in distress at sea just off the coast of his homeland. He has survived the war waged by the Greeks against the Trojans and now, just before achieving his dream of returning home, he fears for his life. Idomeneo does what seems natural in such cases: He not only prays and begs for his life to be spared, but tries to strike a bargain with the powers he holds responsible for his unfortunate situation: the gods. If he escapes from the forces of nature, he will sacrifice to Neptune the first living being that he meets. The storm abates, the king reaches land in safety, and the first person whom he meets on the coast is his son, Idamante. The king must pay a high price for his life.

It speaks in favour of Idomeneo that even before he meets his son he immediately realises the potential problems associated with his promised sacrifice: “Insane, dreadful vow! Cruel oath! Ah, which of the gods still keeps me alive?

Which of them will come to my aid?”

The question of whether and to what extent he has incurred guilt starts to gnaw at him: “I will see around me /

the sorrowing shade / who night and day / will say to me: / ‘I am innocent!’ […] What horror! / What sorrow! in its torment / how many times / this heart will die!“ However, it is only when he realises that he has unwittingly prescribed his own son as the price for his life that he becomes aware of the magnitude of his deed. He tries to reject his own bargain with the gods and asks his advisor Arbace to help him find a way out of it. Perhaps the gods can be outwitted, perhaps he can renegotiate the deal to his advantage: “(Idamante) must seek refuge in another country [...] in the meantime, Neptune will be appeased...”

All these plans are to no avail, the gods cannot be outwitted; indeed, Idomeneo’s hubris may infuriate them even more. The axe must fall on his son and none other: that was the king’s oath.

It is only gradually that Idomeneo realises his true blame. As long as he can, he looks for pretexts, seeing the real offence in the fact that his son has released the prisoner Ilia and fallen in love with her. “You were too quick, Ida­ mante, to break those (Ilia’s) chains.

That is the crime that heaven punishes

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THE GUILT OF MEN AND THE PUNISHMENT OF THE GODS

in you!” He admits his guilt only when it becomes unavoidable, and the people grow restless because of the horrors that the impatient sea god is perpetrating: “Behold in me, cruel God, the guilty one. I alone have sinned; punish me alone, and let your wrath fall on me!” The gods are appeased by the fact that Ilia, who is in love with Idamante, wants to kill herself in his place, because this sacrifice is offered out of love and not for state political considerations.

The libretto of Idomeneo tells the primordial tale of human guilt and offers a variation on an old subject: human sacrifice. This topic pervades the myths of Greek antiquity as well as the stories in the Bible. Naturally Idomeneo must be looked at in the context of Agamemnon, who must sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia to ensure a good wind for the Greeks’ warships. After her brother Orestes kills their mother Clytemnestra, Iphigenia’s sister Elettra also seeks refuge in Crete and falls in love with Idamante. However, Idomeneo also reminds us of Abraham, who must sacrifice his son Isaac to prove his faith.

Above all, Idomeneo relates to the Biblical story of Jephtha, who in order to improve his fortunes in war also promises his god the first creature he meets on his return home: his daughter. And yet these stories differ in nuances that tell us something about what it can mean to be liable as a human being.

“Liability” is one of the central concepts in our culture, but it is also a controversial one. Liability: It can mean everything we are liable for as a result of our own actions. However, liability can also mean something that one owes another person, that which one must

pay back, figuratively and literally. Friedrich Nietzsche noted that the concept of duty or moral obligation has its roots in economic liability. Someone has the right to ask for something back that he has given to me. It is my duty to comply with this request. Anyone who has liabilities owes something to someone else, and they take on further liabilities if they cannot repay what they owe. According to Nietzsche, moral obligation like that expressed by Immanuel Kant in the categorical imperative reeks of the cruelty extant at the origin of the idea of liability: liability for those who cannot settle their debts.

The fact that liabilities must be paid back therefore still stands as a iron commitment that no one can evade.

The meaning of liability fluctuates between being liable for something and owing someone something. This also applies in the figurative sense, for example when we talk about “society” owing a certain group of people something – and it does this because it has evidently incurred a liability towards these people, whether that be as a result of discrimination or simply through ignorance. Liability can therefore also mean that we incur liability towards someone by compromising their life or their opportunities in life. One can incur liability in multiple ways, intentionally and unintentionally, and it is one of the great insights of Greek tragedy – we need only think of King Oedipus – that one can also blamelessly incur liability.

What then was the liability of Cretan king Idomeneo in Mozart’s opera, and what can this form of liability mean for modern man? We no longer believe in gods, and human sacrifice does not seem an effective means of appeasing

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the forces of nature. However, if we examine the psychological aspects of Mozart’s Idomeneo and interpret the gods and the antique-like environment as a symbolic framework for dealing with deeply human conflicts, then the situation looks somewhat different. Idomeneo incurs a liability in the most original sense of the word when he pledges to pay to have his life saved. His power as a ruler allows him to offer the life of another human being to the sea god.

One might say that his liability at this point is doubled. He incurs a liability towards someone as yet unknown to him but whom he is willing to sacrifice, and he is liable towards the gods to whom he owes this sacrifice. He cannot back out of this pact. He is in fact obliged to abide by it. This conflict is exacerbated and truly becomes a torment for Idomeneo when it turns out that it is his own son who must now be sacrificed. The cruelty and the moral problems of a human sacrifice are underscored and intensified in the myth by the relationship between the two men.

Yet Idomeneo’s situation is different from Abraham’s, which in turn differs from that of Agamemnon and Jephtha.

In his work Fear and Trembling danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard pointed out that something different was asked of Abraham with the sacrifice of Isaac than of Agamemnon. Abraham hears God’s voice ordering him to sacrifice his son; there is no comprehensible reason of any kind. Abraham is alone with this voice, perplexed, distraught. Viewed from his own perspective, it is about his faith; from an outside perspective Abraham is a mad man who plans to kill his son without any motive. By contrast, Agamemnon finds himself in a classic tragic conflict: love

for his child cannot be reconciled with the needs of the community. He must decide between the life of his daughter and the fortunes of war of an army that has entrusted him with its leadership.

Agamemnon is in a situation in which, to achieve one’s goal, one must accept something evil, and the question then becomes whether the price is a reasonable one for this goal. The life of a person is set against the chances of the community to wage and win a war. Agamemnon decides in favour of the community and accepts the death of his daughter as collateral damage, to use the modern idiom. Naturally he incurs guilt by doing so, and the gods show compassion for his child. In contrast to Abraham, whose action almost no one could understand, the politician who orders an armed attack in the knowledge that innocent people not involved in the conflict, including women and children, will suffer, faces the same dilemma as Agamemnon. However, the politician’s own children are rarely part of this collateral damage that is often accepted rather light-heartedly.

Agamemnon knew that he had to sacrifice his daughter for his fortunes of war. With Jephtha, one of the judges in Israel, things look different again.

Unlike Agamemnon, of whom the gods demand this sacrifice, Jephtha offers his god a human sacrifice of his own accord in order to win a victory over the Ammonites. But Jephtha does not know who this sacrifice will be; he cannot suspect that his daughter will be the first to step out to greet him. This woman, who remains nameless in the Bible, accepts the sacrifice and gives up her life for the community.

Once again this is different from Idomeneo. He is neither commanded

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THE GUILT OF MEN AND THE PUNISHMENT OF THE GODS

by a god, nor must he make the choice between the welfare of his people and the life of a human. His problem involve neither the fortunes of war nor the life of a soldier, but only his own life. To this extent, amongst these paradigmatic mythical figures who incur guilt through a human sacrifice, Idomeneo is by all means a modern phenomenon. He wants to live, and he uses his power to offer the gods another life for his own.

One might call it abuse of power, but it is also a classic barter transaction. However, in the narrower sense of the term there was no tragic conflict. Only when Idomeneo realises that he must sacrifice his son does he realise that he has placed the value of his own life above all else in a manner that is not justifiable.

The origin of his guilt lies in an exaggerated view of himself that is not due to him, particularly as a ruler. The welfare of his people did not play a role in his bargain with the gods.

Idomeneo embodies the kind of person who is willing to compromise the life of another person, indeed even destroy it, to increase his own chances

of living and surviving. The fact that in the myth it is his own child who falls victim of such egoism could be interpreted as clairvoyant anticipation of the current state of the world. The modern Idomeneo for example uses the earth’s resources without wasting a thought on the fact that this could drastically reduce the quality of life of his children.

The modern Idomeneo accepts almost any collateral damage if it improves his affluence and riches; the modern Idomeneo sacrifices countless human lives at the altar of money and growth, without being seized by the scruples that concerned Mozart’s characters. There is no question: in modern politics too there are situations in which one must accept a sacrifice in order to reach a higher goal. However, Mozart’s Idomeneo indicates that we make ourselves guilty in a very particular fashion when this goal serves the interests of only a few or even a single person. Idomeneo paid his debt with his half enforced, half voluntary loss of power. The coins with which we shall one day have to pay our debts have not yet been minted.

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Following pages:

CHEN REISS as ILIA

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

IDOMENEO

IN THE TROJAN WAR Then, though a half-gray man he were, Crete’s sovereign did excite The Greeks to blows, and flew upon the Trojans, even to flight; For he, in sight of all the host, Othryoneus slew, That from Cabesus, with the fame of those wars, thither drew His new-come forces, and required, without respect of dow’r, Cassandra, fairs’t of Priam’s race; assuring with his pow’r, A mighty labour, to expel, in their despite, from Troy The sons of Greece. The king did vow, that done, he should enjoy His goodliest daughter. He, in trust of that fair purchase, fought; And at him threw the Cretan king a lance, that singled out This great assumer, whom it struck just in his navel-stead.

His brazen curets helping nought resigned him to the dead.

Then did the conqueror exclaim, and thus insulted then: “Othryoneus, I will praise, beyond all mortal men, Thy living virtues, if thou wilt now perfect the brave vow Thou mad’st to Priam for the wife he promised to bestow.

And where he should have kept his word, there we assure thee here, To give thee for thy princely wife the fairest and most dear Of our great General’s female race, which from his Argive hall We all will wait upon to Troy, if, with our aids, and all, Thou wilt but raze this well-built town. Come, therefore, follow me, That in our ships we may conclude this royal match with thee.

I’ll be no jot worse than my word.“ With that he took his feet, And dragged him through the fervent fight; in which did Asius meet The victor, to inflict revenge. He came on foot before His horse, that on his shoulders breathed; so closely evermore His coachman led them to his lord; who held a huge desire

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IDOMENEO

I N T H E T ROJ A N WA R

To strike the king, but he struck first, and underneath his chin, At his throat’s height, through th’ other side, his eager lance drave in; And down he bustled like an oak, a poplar, or a pine, Hewn down for shipwood, and so lay. His fall did so decline The spirit of his charioteer, that, lest he should incense The victor to impair his spoil, he durst not drive from thence His horse and chariot; and so pleased, with that respective part, Antilochus, that for his fear he reached him with a dart About his belly’s midst, and down his sad corse fell beneath The richly builded chariot, there labouring out his breath.

The horse Antilochus took off; when, grieved for this event, Deiphobus drew passing near, and at the victor sent A shining javelin; which he saw, and shunned, with gath’ring round His body in his all-round shield, at whose top, with a sound, It overflew; yet, seizing there, it did not idly fly From him that winged it, his strong hand still drave it mortally On prince Hypsenor; it did pierce his liver, underneath The veins it passeth; his shrunk knees submitted him to death.

And then did loved Deiphobus miraculously vaunt: “Now Asius lies not unrevenged, nor doth his spirit want The joy I wish it, though it be now ent’ring the strong gate Of mighty Pluto, since this hand hath sent him down a mate.”

This glory in him grieved the Greeks, and chiefly the great mind Of martial Antilochus, who though to grief inclined, He left not yet his friend, but ran and hid him with his shield; And to him came two lovely friends that freed him from the field, Mecisteus, son of echius, and the right nobly born Alastar, bearing him to fleet, and did extremely mourn.

Idomeneus sunk not yet, but held his nerves entire, His mind much less deficient, being fed with firm desire To hide more Trojans in dim night, or sink himself in guard Of his loved countrymen. And then Alcathous prepared Work for his valour, off’ring fate his own destruction.

A great heroë, and had grace to be the loved son Of Æsyetes, son-in-law to prince Æneas’ sire, Hippodamia marrying, who most enflamed the fire Of her dear parents’ love, and took precedence in her birth Of all their daughters, and as much exceeded in her worth

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I D O M E N E O I N T H E T ROJ A N WA R

(For beauty answered with her mind, and both with housewifery) All the fair beauty of young dames that used her company, And therefore, being the worthiest dame, the worthiest man Of ample Troy. Him Neptune stooped beneath the royal force Of Idomen, his sparkling eyes deluding, and the course Of his illustrious lineaments so out of nature bound, That back nor forward he could stir, but, as he grew to ground, Stood like a pillar, or high tree, and neither moved nor feared; When straight the royal Cretan‘s dart in his mid breast appeared, It brake the curets, that were proof to every other dart Yet now they cleft and rung; the lance stuck shaking in his heart; His heart with panting made it shake; but Mars did now remit The greatness of it, and the king, now quitting the brag fit Of glory in Deiphobus, thus terribly exclaimed: “Deiphobus, now may we think that we are evenly famed That three for one have sent to Dis. But come, change blows with me, Thy vaunts for him thou slew‘st were vain.

Come, wretch, that thou may‘st see What issue Jove hath.

From Homer’s Iliad, Book XIII Translated by George Chapman

BERNARD RICHTER

as IDOMENEO

ANDREAS LÁNG

“COURAGE AND EFFORT

IN EQUAL MEASURE...”

IDOMENEO IN VIENNA There has been and still is a great deal of discussion about why the drama Idomeneo has received different treatment from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s other works for the stage. In Vienna too, which proudly claims for itself the attribute City of Mozart, this opera so highly regarded by its creator and by numerous music connoisseurs and music lovers has suffered the same fate as around the world: every new production, every attempt at revival has achieved no more than a handful of performances. Between the first performance in Vienna under the direction of the composer in 1786 and today, less than 150 performances of the work have been seen on Vienna’s stages.

By contrast, Le nozze di Figaro has been seen nearly 1,000 times just since 1945. To date, Idomeneo has not received a single performance at the Volksoper,

and the Theater an der Wien was evidently not ready for a production of the opera until 1981 – although in that case it was a guest performance from Zürich.

This despite the fact that after the successful première in Munich in 1781, Mozart had been confident that the work would take the imperial city by storm that same year, thereby giving his career a decisive boost.

But the first performance, which took place only five years later and was the only performance for the following two decades, occurred in somewhat modest circumstances. The only singer available for the title role was Giuseppe Antonio Bridi, although professionally trained an amateur singer and banker.

The theatre for the first performance was not the national Theatre (the performance venue for Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Le nozze di Figaro and Così

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“COURAGE AND EFFORT IN EQUAL MEA SU R E ...”

fan tutte), not the Kärntnertor Theatre, but merely a private event at Palais Auersperg (in what is now the 8th district) in front of an audience of invited guests.

And it would not appear to have been a particular attraction at all. Count Zinzendorf – a passionate opera-goer who wrote extensive commentaries in his diary on some of the performances he attended – wrote merely the following sentences for 13 March 1786: “Today, the emperor turned 45 ... At 10 p.m. I waited for Louise, who was returning from the performance of Idomeneo at Palais Auersperg.” Nevertheless, contrary to what has been previously supposed, the event was not a concert performance, but a presentation with sets, costumes and make-up.1 In fact, this one performance was probably particularly significant, since Mozart made several changes from the Munich version. For example, the role of Idamante was rewritten for tenor and a new rondo was added. Such revisions were very commonplace at the time, but in the case of Idomeneo in addition to the two versions written by the composer, the history of the work is dotted with many, in some cases glaring revisions, as was for example the case in Vienna.

Viennese audiences were finally able to see the opera again at the Kärntnertor Theatre in 1806, but this time with spoken dialogues and in a German translation by Fidelio librettist Friedrich Treitschke! However, when one considers that this theatre is comparable in size to Schönbrunn Palace Theatre and furthermore no more than five performances were given, the number of people who enjoyed this version must have been rather small. The “newly staged”

production was seen as many times bet­ ween 25 November 1819 and 27 January 1820. The score used at the time includes dialogues in both German but Italian.

Evidently audiences were not expected to be small, since music dealers were reckoning with an increase in sales: the music shop Steiner on Graben placed a sizeable ad in the Viennese newspaper in November advertising various music settings for Idomeneo – everything from the complete score and piano score to various editions for string quartets and other instrumentations were offered for sale.

Nevertheless, after five performances the opera disappeared from the schedule and was only produced again at the opera house on the Ring in 1879.

This time the title was Idomeneus. Eduard Hanslick commented in the Neue Freie Presse on this long, 60-year wait in the sardonic style for which he was known: “Even the older gentlemen, whose white heads light up, dotted around the stalls, could at most have been brought to the opera as small boys when Idomeneo was last performed in Vienna.” He goes on to say that “a performance of Idomeneo today requires courage and effort in equal measure.”

The revisions to this production obviously based on the Viennese version were made this time by Court opera Kapellmeister Johann Nepomuk Fuchs, who, according to Hanslick, “with taste and skill abridged the score that could no longer be performed in its original version, simplifying and touching it up, as necessitated in part by the individuality of our singers and in part by circumstances on the opera stage.”

The opera’s success on this occasion was unexpectedly good and led

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ANDREAS LÁNG

to Idomeneo staying on the schedule for twelve years. Critics took aim at the mediocre libretto and the appearance of the sea monster, which they compared to a giant bat and which, to everyone’s amazement “looked like a venerable old man and wore a long white beard”. No wonder: trusting in the poor lighting typical of the day, for reasons of thrift the management had unceremoniously borrowed the dragon Fafner from the Siegfried set... The auspicious term “world première” was evidently used as a publicity ploy for the next new production in Vienna. In the first third of the 20th century, Richard Strauss and Lothar Wallerstein developed another “Viennese version”, which received its “world première” on 16 April 1931 – as the programme revealed. Although the original title Idomeneo was restored, the opera underwent numerous “improvements”: a priestess Ismene was substituted for Elettra, the recitativo secco passages were abridged and turned into recitativo accompagnato, the order of scenes was changed, and the (German) libretto was rewritten by Wallerstein.

However, the biggest changes were made by Strauss himself, since his creative spirit was not to be suppressed.

Julius Korngold’s comment on the result of this blend of styles was: “Modulations ... that Mozart could scarcely have dreamed of.” This adopted child of Strauss’ received another six performances that same year, and five more in 1941 following its revival for the “Mozart Festival of the German Reich”.

After a break of 30 years, the next première was a production by Vaclav Kaslik, with Jaroslav Krombholc on the podium, on 14 March 1971; it was also the first performance of Idomeneo in italian at the house on the Ring.

Bernhard Paumgartner, who was responsible for this revision, “naturally followed Mozart’s transposition of the soprano role of Idamante for a tenor and the related changes to the ensemble ... and only ventured cuts where the advancement of the plot seemed to require them.” The title role was sung by Wal­demar Kmentt in all eleven performances of this production, with Sena Jurinac in the restored role of Elettra.

Werner Krenn and Adolf Dallapozza were heard as Idamante, and Lisa della Casa and Olivera Miljakovic as Ilia.

The next Staatsoper production directed by Johannes Schaaf maintained a place on the schedule for a relatively long period. In all, the curtain rose on this production 34 times between 1987 and 2000; on the podium for the première of this production was no less than Nikolaus Harnoncourt, giving his debut at the house on the Ring.

The great reformer amongst conductors decided on Mozart’s original Munich version: Mozart’s original score, found in 1981. In subsequent years, Colin Davis, Donald Runnicles, Peter Schneider and Bertrand de Billy took over musical direction of the opera. Performing the lead roles were, amongst others, Peter Schreier, Gösta Winbergh, Thomas Moser, Plácido Domingo, and Siegfried Jerusalem as Idomeneo; Delores Ziegler, Ann Murray, Gabriele Sima, Anne Sofie von Otter, and Angelika Kirchschlager as Idamante; Marie McLaughlin, Elizabeth Norberg-Schulz, and Ruth Ziesak as Ilia; and Suzanne Murphy, Roberta Alexander, Eliane Coelho, and Melanie Diener as Elettra.

After a performance series in the Klangbogen Festival at the Theater an der Wien in 2003, (under Bertrand de

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“COURAGE AND EFFORT IN EQUAL MEA SU R E ...”

Billy, directed by Nicolas Brieger), the next Staatsoper première of Idomeneo took place on 27 January 2006, the 250th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s birth, in a co-production between the Wiener Staatsoper and the Theater an der Wien. In this production

by Willy Decker, he was unable to finish work on rehearsals, and Karin Voykowitsch, Staatsoper assistant stage director, completed the rehearsal process in keeping with decker’s concept, thereby brilliantly saving the première. Peter Schneider stepped in for Seiji Ozawa, who was scheduled to conduct but fell ill. The singers were neil Shicoff (Idomeneo), Angelika Kirchschlager (Ida­ mante), Genia Kühmeier (Ilia) and Barbara Frittoli (Elettra). Later performance series conducted by Peter Schneider and Bertrand de Billy included Michael Schade and Michael Roider as Idomeneo, Iano Tamar and Ingrid Kaiserfeld as Elettra, Genia Kühmeier again and Alexandra Reinprecht as Ilia, and Angelika Kirchschlager

again and Michaela Selinger as Idamante. Nineteen performances of this co-production were given.

After another production of Idomeneo at the Theater an der Wien (conductor: René Jacobs, stage director: Damiano Michieletto) in 2013, the Wiener Staatsoper premièred the current production on 5 october 2014. Under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach and directed by the danish artistic director and successful opera director Kasper Holten, Michael Schade sang the role of Idomeneo, Maria Bengtsson made her debut at this house as Elettra, Margarita Gritskova sang Idamante, and Chen Reiss Elia. For Michael Schade, this was his fifth Mozart première for the Wiener Staatsoper, after Così fan tutte (1994), Don Giovanni (1999), Zauberflöte (2000), Clemenza di Tito (2012), for Chen Reiss his third after Clemenza di Tito (2012) and Zauberflöte (2013), and for Christoph Eschenbach his second Mozart première at the house on the Ring after Zauberflöte (2013).

American musicologist Dorothea Link arrived at this conclusion after analysis of the Zinzendorf diaries and other sources. See also “Vienna’s Private Theatrical and Musical Life, 1738-92, as reported by Count Karl Zinzendorf”. Journal of the Royal Musical Association, 122 (1997): 205-57.

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KS MICHAEL SCHADE as IDOMENEO

IMPRINT WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

IDOMENEO SEASON 2025/26 PREMIÈRE 5 OCTOBER 2014 R E V I VA L OF T H E P ROD U C T ION 16 J A N UA RY 2 0 2 6 Publisher WIENER STAATSOPER GMBH, Opernring 2, 1010 Wien Director DR. BOGDAN ROŠČIĆ Administrative Director DR. PETRA BOHUSLAV General Editors ANDREAS LÁNG, OLIVER LÁNG Design & concept EXEX Layout & typesetting MIWA MEUSBURGER Cover image concept MARTIN CONRADS, BERLIN Printed by PRINT ALLIANCE HAV PRODUKTIONS GMBH, BAD VÖSLAU TEXT REFERENCES All texts, except those by Homer, were written for the programme booklet for the 2014 premiere. IMAGE REFERENCES Cover image: © Javier Jaen. Performance photos: Michael Pöhn/Wiener Staatsoper GmbH (p. 2/3, 5, 9, 24/25, 35) – Ashley Taylor / Wiener Staatsoper GmbH (p. 14/15, 29) ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS Andrew Smith.

Reproduction only with approval of Wiener Staatsoper GmbH / Dramaturgy. Holders of rights who were unavailable regarding retrospect compensation are requested to make contact.

produced according to guideline Uz24 Austrian Ecolabel, Print Alliance HAV Produktions GmbH, UW No. 715

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