W. A. MOZART

 

Idomeneo

 

Richard Croft......Idomeneo

Bernarda Fink......Idamante

Sunhae Im......Ilia

Alexandrina Pendatchanska......Elettra

Keneth Tarver......Arbace

Nicolas Rivenq......Gran Sacerdote

Luca Tittoto......La Voce

 

RIAS Kammerchor

Freiburger Barockorchester / René Jacobs

 

"If you're one of those people (and judging by the sales figures there are plenty of us) who are finding René Jacobs' Mozart opera series for harmonia mundi one of the recorded marvels of our time, then another treat is on the way. After a brief tour of performances in concert, Jacobs took Idomeneo into the studio at the start of December. I caught the performance at the Salle Pleyel. One of the joys of Jacobs' Mozart, apart from the pungent and vibrant orchestral work (the Freiburger Barokorchester), the astounding choral singing (the RIAS Kammerchor) and the viscerally immediate and gloriously mobile recitatives, is the use of what is fast become a Jacobs company of singers. Step forward Alexandrina Pendatchanska (Vitellia in La Clemenza di Tito and Elvira in Don Giovanni, and Elettra here), Sunhae Im (Servilia and Zerlina to date and here an Illia of mettle but also of enchanting allure: no surprise that Idamante was enraptured) and Bernarda Fink (Sesto in Clemenza and here a heroic and focused Idamante).

 

New faces and voices this time round merely added to the occasion. Richard Croft, a hugely experienced singer, but one who'd never cropped up on my Mozartian radar, offered a characterisation of the title role that was perhaps more thoughtful than normal, yet he rose magnificently when required: 'Fuor del mar' was a tour de force, his flinty tenor soaring from his quite baritonal tenor voice. Idomeneo is an opera which seethes with tension and everyone subscribed to the roller-coaster of tension and release (and inevitably more tension). Pendatchanska, a spitfire of an Elettra, provided the last salvo of the evening of fireworks - this is a role tailor-made for her, and she delivered thrillingly. Jacobs is a terrific guide in Mozart - drawing playing of great flare from his Freiburg band… Gardiner's Gramophone Award-winning Archiv set has held sway in Idomeneo for 17 years, I think it's about to get a serious run for its money." James Jolly, Gramophone, February

 

Filmed in December 2008 in Paris (Salle pleyel) & Wuppertal, Germany (Immanuelskirche)

Format: NTSC, 16:9 aspect ratio

Total time: 45'50

All zones, English/French/German

 

Harmonia Mundi 3cds + DVD HMC902036-38