Mozart was just 22 when he received the commission to write an opera for the Elector of Bavaria, to be performed at the court theater in Munich. The commission, in a way, was an exercise in antiquarianism. The subject, Idomeneo, King of Crete, which was probably given to him, is a relatively obscure appendix to the Trojan War. The topic was not new, but had been set as an opera by at least one other composer 50 years earlier. And such a commission called for a grand style, based in the Handelian tradition of opera seria, but also taking account of the spectacles written more recently by Gluck.

Mozart wore such borrowed raiment well, but he was not to be constrained by it. In addition to its conventional elements, Idomeneo contains some of Mozart's richest orchestration, his most varied choruses, a number of ensembles not generally found in opera seria, and a texture that often reaches beyond accompanied recitative to sow the seeds for the continuous music drama of Wagner. For these reasons, Idomeneo is an opera that conductors want to tackle and singers want to sing. But for the stage director, the problem of its antique subject and formal manner remains. We shall look at three attempts to reconcile the old with the new.

This week's handout (links above) contains a synopsis of the opera. If you want to get a sample in advance, I would suggest one or more of the following: a simple telling of the story for a production in England, a trailer from a production in Berlin with a good selection from the music, and an introduction to the main production that we shall be watching by its director, Robert Carsen. Note, though, that the task of compiling a 2½-minute action trailer is very different from staging the piece at its full 2½-hour length.