Mozart: Idomeneo

Premiered two days before Mozart's 25th birthday, this is the first opera of his maturity (i.e., the amazing last 10 years of his too-short life). It is written in a modified form of opera seria, a Baroque rather than a classical style, with a plot from Greek mythology and rigid structures that Mozart bent somewhat to his own preferences. It poses stylistic problems quite different from those raised by Don Giovanni or The Magic Flute, which are much closer to modern concepts of opera and, indeed, helped to establish those concepts. Pritchard's interpretation makes reasonable compromises (mostly short textual cuts) between the old-fashioned form and modern tastes. The women in his cast are excellent, as are the Viennese chorus and orchestra. Recommended for those who dislike music on period instruments. --Joe McLellan