Idomeneo
- Episode aired 2006
YOUR RATING
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Roger Norrington
- Self - Conductor
- (as Sir Roger Norrington)
Storyline
Featured review
Really excellent
Of the Idomeneos I've seen, my first choices are between the Pavarotti and Langridge productions. This is an excellent production though and one of the better ones I've seen. The costumes are good and the sets while sometimes sparse are beautiful. What really stood out visually though was the stage direction, innovative and interesting without distracting from the score or the libretto. The two-part stage is the very definition of grand, the lighting effects are really striking, Neptune is omnipresent and commanding, the character interactions are convincing and when there is call for stage effects like thunder and lightning for example that's exactly what we get.
From a musical point of view, it is outstanding. The orchestral playing is very characterful, with lots of style and power when needed. Roger Norrington conducts briskly and with nuances. The chorus are splendid vocally and their many moments of acting are very animated. The performances I was also really taken with. Jeffrey Francis' Arbace is sung absolutely beautifully especially in Se Cola Ne' Fatti E Scritto. Neptune is sinister in his omnipresence as well, and while I am not the biggest fan of Robin Legatte's voice his High Priest is good.
Ramon Vargas as Idomeneo is wonderful, the purity of tone, crisp diction and stunning breath control is all there, especially in his rendition of the more difficult version of Fuor Del Mar. He is better an actor than I expected, he is much more passionate in Mozart and as Lensky than he is in Verdi roles or so I feel. Anja Harteros comes very close to stealing the show, her Elettra is intense and deranged and she sings powerfully, her character's sense of rage really convincing. Ekaterina Siurina as Ilia has a beautiful voice, a great sense of the lyric style and has great musicality and high notes. Her acting is also expressive, and the fact that she is a gorgeous woman also helps. The Idamante of Magdalena Kozena is not quite as good, vocally she is perfect, warm and powerfully accented. Sometimes though in her acting she is missing subtlety coming across sometimes as manic or depressive.
Overall, an excellent Idomeneo. 9/10 Bethany Cox
From a musical point of view, it is outstanding. The orchestral playing is very characterful, with lots of style and power when needed. Roger Norrington conducts briskly and with nuances. The chorus are splendid vocally and their many moments of acting are very animated. The performances I was also really taken with. Jeffrey Francis' Arbace is sung absolutely beautifully especially in Se Cola Ne' Fatti E Scritto. Neptune is sinister in his omnipresence as well, and while I am not the biggest fan of Robin Legatte's voice his High Priest is good.
Ramon Vargas as Idomeneo is wonderful, the purity of tone, crisp diction and stunning breath control is all there, especially in his rendition of the more difficult version of Fuor Del Mar. He is better an actor than I expected, he is much more passionate in Mozart and as Lensky than he is in Verdi roles or so I feel. Anja Harteros comes very close to stealing the show, her Elettra is intense and deranged and she sings powerfully, her character's sense of rage really convincing. Ekaterina Siurina as Ilia has a beautiful voice, a great sense of the lyric style and has great musicality and high notes. Her acting is also expressive, and the fact that she is a gorgeous woman also helps. The Idamante of Magdalena Kozena is not quite as good, vocally she is perfect, warm and powerfully accented. Sometimes though in her acting she is missing subtlety coming across sometimes as manic or depressive.
Overall, an excellent Idomeneo. 9/10 Bethany Cox
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- TheLittleSongbird
- Aug 17, 2012
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