Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Idomeneo (Naxos Audio CD 3-disc set)

Idomeneo, re di Creta, K.366

Idomeneo - Kurt Streit
Ilia - Ángeles Blancas Gulín
Elettra - Iano Tamar
Idamante - Sonia Ganassi
Arbace - Jörg Schneider
Il Gran Sacerdote - Dario Magnabosco
Chorus and Orchestra of the San Carlo Theatre, Naples / Marco Guidarini

The notable musicologist Alfred Einstein commented that Idomeneo is ‘one of those works that even a genius of highest rank, like Mozart, could write only once in his life’.

Every page of the score deserves appreciation. Of the many exceptional arias and ensembles, especially notable is the third act quartet ‘Andrò ramingo e solo’, one of the most moving concerted numbers in any Mozart opera.

This recording is based on the original 1781 Munich version, without the extended ballet but including some music cut by Mozart before the première.