Idomeneo Is March 25, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: The March 25, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is Idomeneo, a three-act opera themed in Greek mythology by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Mozart's Idomeneo airs as the March 25, 2017, Saturday matinee broadcast during the 2016-2017 Met Opera season: METOperaChoristers @MetOperaChorus, via Twitter Feb. 22, 2017

Idomeneo, a three-act opera seria (“serious opera”) set in the aftermath of Greek mythology’s Trojan War by Classical era composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791), is the March 25, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast.

Italian abbot and librettist Giambattista Varesco (Nov. 26, 1735-Aug. 25, 1805) wrote the Italian libretto for Idomeneo Rè di Creta. The libretto’s literary source is a French libretto, Idoménée, by French dramatist and librettist Antoine Danchet (Sept. 7, 1671-Feb. 21, 1748). French operatist André Campra (bapt. Dec. 4, 1660-June 29, 1744) based his opera, Idoménée, on Danchet’s libretto.

L’Académie Royale de Musique, France’s primary opera company, premiered Campra’s five-act tragédie lyrique Jan. 12, 1712. On April 13, 1731, the opera company reprised the operatic tragedy.

Mozart’s and Varesco’s Idomeneo premiered Jan. 29, 1781, at Cuvilliés Theatre in Munich, Bavaria, southeastern Germany. Belgian-born Bavarian architect François de Cuvilliés (Oct. 23, 1695-April 14, 1768) designed the Bavarian rococo style building.

Idomeneo’s setting is the aftermath of Greek mythology’s Trojan War. The drama that centers on Cretan King Idomeneo’s rash promise unfolds on the Eastern Mediterranean island of Crete. Mozart’s version of the Greek myth chooses a happy, alternative ending for two star-crossed lovers, Prince Idamante of Crete and Princess Ilia, daughter of defeated King Priam of Troy.

The Saturday matinee broadcast of Idomeneo begins at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (5 p.m. Coordinated Universal Time). The estimated run time for the performance is about 3 hours 58 minutes.

The opera, sung in the original Italian, comprises three acts and two intermissions. Act I is timed for 57 minutes. A 33-minute intermission succeeds Act I.

Act II is timed for 46 minutes. A 35-minute intermission follows Act II.

Act III is timed for 65 minutes. The opera ends with Act III’s final notes.

Music Director Emeritus James Levine conducts all of the Metropolitan Opera’s performances of Idomeneo. His birthplace is Cincinnati, Hamilton County, southwestern Ohio. The American conductor debuted in the Metropolitan Opera’s 1971 production of Tosca by Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924). This season James Levine also conducts L’Italiana in Algeri by Gioachino Antonio Rossini (Feb. 29, 1792-Nov. 13, 1868) and Nabucco by Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901).

Matthew Polenzani appears in the title role. He was born in Evanston, Cook County, northeastern Illinois. The American lyric tenor debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1997 as Boyar Kruschov in Boris Godunov by Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (March 21, 1839-March 28, 1881). This season Matthew Polenzani also appears as Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and as a Singer in Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Georg Strauss (June 11, 1864-Sept. 8, 1949).

Alice Coote appears in a trouser role as Prince Idamante. Her birthplace is Frodsham, Cheshire, North West England. The British lyric mezzo-soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2006 as Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro.

Nadine Sierra appears as Trojan Princess Ilia. She was born in Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, southeastern Florida. The American operatic soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2015 as Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto. This season Nadine Sierra also appears as Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni.

Nadine Sierra shares the role of Ilia with Ying Fang. Born in Ningbo, northeastern Zhejiang province, eastern coastal China, the Chinese operatic soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2013 as Madam Podtochina’s Daughter in The Nose by Russian composer and pianist Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (Sept. 25, 1906-Aug. 9, 1975). This season Ying Fang also appears as Elvira in Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri and as Jano in Jenufa by Czech composer Leoš Janáček (July 3, 1854-Aug. 12, 1928).

Elza van den Heever appears as Princess Elettra, daughter of King Agamemnon of Argos. Her birthplace is Johannesburg, Gauteng province, northeastern South Africa. The South African dramatic soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2012 as Elisabetta in Maria Stuarda by Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (Nov. 29, 1797-April 8, 1848).

Alan Opie appears as Arbace, confidant of King Idomeneo. He was born in Redruth, Cornwall, South West England. The Cornish baritone debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1994 as Balstrode in Peter Grimes by Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (Nov. 22, 1913-Dec. 4, 1976). This season Alan Opie also appears as the Gamekeeper in Rusalka by Czech composer Antonín Leopold Dvořák (Sept. 8, 1841-May 1, 1904).

The Saturday matinee radio broadcasts appeal to the sense of sound. No visual elements compete to distract attention from opera’s musical core.

Saturday matinee radio broadcast listeners miss the 2016-2017 season’s revival of staging created by French opera designer Jean-Pierre Ponnelle (Feb. 19, 1932-Aug. 11, 1988) for the Met’s 1982-1983 presentation of Idomeneo. The Metropolitan Opera has revived Ponnelle’s classic production in subsequent performances of Idomeneo, including the 1985-1986 and 1994-1995 seasons. The most recent revival of Ponnelle’s costume and set designs occurred during the 2006-2007 Met Opera season.

Operabase, an online database, finds that in the five seasons from 2011/12 to 2015/16, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was the second most popular composer, with 11,876 performances worldwide of his operas. Also, Idomeneo Rè di Creta places at 74, with 276 performances worldwide, in the list of 2,658 most popular operas.

The Metropolitan Opera’s 2016 Repertory Report gives performance statistics through Oct. 31. Idomeneo places at number 81, with 67 performances, for the period from first Met performance, Oct. 14, 1982, to last performance, Dec. 9, 2006. The Metropolitan Opera’s 2016-2017 season falls outside the report’s parameters.

The takeaway for Idomeneo as the March 25, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is the happy ending, seemingly so uncharacteristic of Greek myths, that triumphs by way of recurring productions, over 35 seasons, linking the Met with conductor James Levine, composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, designer Jean-Pierre Ponnelle and librettist Giambattista Varesco.

Princess Elettra (Elza van den Heever) is extremely disappointed by outcomes in the 2016-2017 Met Opera season's production of Mozart's Idomeneo: Met Chorus News @metchorusman, via Twitter March 8, 2017

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Mozart's Idomeneo airs as the March 25, 2017, Saturday matinee broadcast during the 2016-2017 Met Opera season: METOperaChoristers @MetOperaChorus, via Twitter Feb. 22, 2017, @ https://twitter.com/MetOperaChorus/status/834424227294040065

Princess Elettra (Elza van den Heever) is extremely disappointed by outcomes in the 2016-2017 Met Opera season's production of Mozart's Idomeneo: Met Chorus News @metchorusman, via Twitter March 8, 2017, @ https://twitter.com/metchorusman/status/839630046042128385

For further information:

“Broadcast of December 21: Idomeneo.” Opera News, vol. 56, no. 7 (December 1991).
Available @ http://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/Archive/1991/12/David_J__Baker_Links_Milanov_and_Marilyn_Monroe.html

Carter, Richard. “Mozart’s ‘Idomeneo’ Made History in 1982 -- Returns to 2016-17 Met Opera Season.” U.S. Blasting News > Lifestyle. Feb. 10, 2017.
Available @ http://us.blastingnews.com/lifestyle/2017/02/mozart-s-idomeneo-made-history-in-1982-returns-to-2016-17-met-opera-season-001464387.amp.html

"Composers: Composers Ranked by the Number of Performances of Their Operas Over the Five Seasons 2011/2012 to 2015/16." Operabase > Opera Statistics.
Available @ http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en

Danchet, Antoine. “Idoménée, Tragédie, Représentée Pour la Première Fois, par L’Acadeémie Royale de Musique, Le Mardy, Douzième Jour de Janvier 1712. Paris, France: Jean-Baptiste-Christophe Ballard, MDCCXXXI (1731).
Available via Gallica -- The BnF (Bibliothèque nationale de France) Digital Library @ http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k723717/f1.item

Henahan, Donal. “Opera: ‘Idomeneo,’ by Mozart, at Met.” The New York Times > Arts. Jan. 19, 1986.
Available @ http://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/19/arts/opera-idomeneo-by-mozart-at-met.html

Holland, Bernard. “Opera Review: Idomeneo; Heroes and Antiquity Endowed by Mozart With Flamboyance.” The New York Times > Arts. Oct. 3, 1994.
Available @ http://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/03/arts/opera-review-idomeneo-heroes-and-antiquity-endowed-by-mozart-with-flamboyance.html

“Idomeneo, K. 366 (Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus.” IMSLP (International Music Score Library Project) Petrucci Music Library.
Available @ http://imslp.org/wiki/Idomeneo,_K.366_(Mozart,_Wolfgang_Amadeus)

Met Chorus News @metchorusman. "Review: Mozart’s ‘Idomeneo’ Shows the Met Opera at Its Best." Twitter. March 8, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/metchorusman/status/839630046042128385

METOperaChoristers @MetOperaChorus. “On Stage With #Idomeneo @MetOpera! #Mozart With This Stellar Cast = Heaven!” Twitter. Feb. 22, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MetOperaChorus/status/834424227294040065

Metropolitan Opera. "Idomeneo at the Metropolitan Opera." YouTube. March 2, 2017.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpryGsEVf08

Metropolitan Opera. “Matthew Polenzani and Nadine Sierra on Idomeneo.” YouTube. March 16, 2017. Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFRZlZwq0EQ

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "Elza van den Heever is Elettra in Mozart's Idomeneo under the baton of James Levine. Opens March 6. Performances through March 25. Photos by Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera." Facebook. March 3, 2017.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10158425964200533/

“Metropolitan Opera Broadcast: Idomeneo Broadcast of December 9, 2006, 1 PM.” Opera News, vol. 71, no. 6 (December 2006).
Available @ http://www.operanews.com/operanews/issue/article.aspx?id=1899&issueID=82

MovieTrailer.IO. “Idomeneo Trailer.” Daily Motion. Jan. 18, 2017.
Available @ http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x58w3qa

“Performances Statistics Through October 31, 2016.” MetOpera Database > The Metropolitan Opera Archives > Repertory Report. Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/Database%20Opera%20Statistics.xml

Rothstein, Edward. “Review/Opera; Met’s ‘Idomeneo’ Strikes a Balance.” The New York Times > Arts. Sept. 30, 1991.
Available @ http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/30/arts/review-opera-met-s-idomeneo-strikes-a-balance.html