Time 19:00
The Royal Theatre at the Old Orangery in the Royal Łazienki Museum in Warsaw
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“Who could believe that such great things could be hidden in so small a head?” This enthusiastic opinion about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s three-act opera Idomeneo KV 366 – before it even premiered – was expressed by Prince Charles Theodor, Elector of Bavaria, on whose commission the work was created. This patron of culture had the best orchestra in Europe at his disposal, so the twenty-five-year-old Mozart had a unique opportunity to compose in extremely comfortable conditions, surrounded by outstanding artists. Even the questionable acting skills of the leading actors or the comments criticizing the libretto could not stop the true explosion of talent evidenced by the score of the work. In it, Mozart goes beyond the conventions of the Italian opera seria genre – he successfully draws on the great traditions of French and German opera while giving the piece a distinctive character, marked by his characteristic sense of distance and humor.
The Italian libretto was prepared by Fr. Giambattista Varesco based on the French tragedy by Antoine Danchet from 1712. The Cretan king Idomeneo, in the face of danger, promises Neptune to sacrifice the first person he meets after returning to his homeland, which turns out to be his son, Idamantes. Faced with a tragic choice, the king reveals his ambiguous nature, while the captured Trojan princess Ilia faces another internal conflict, placing her love for Idamantes and loyalty to her homeland on opposite scales. The other characters are equally colourful – the ardent and courageous Idamantes and the cunning and demonic Electra. Their every outburst of emotion is perfectly reflected in the music. Mozart treats the orchestra in a plastic way, embellishing the narrative with instrumental solo parts and boldly – as in no other opera – uses the richness of the sound possibilities of the chorus.
In the staging directed by Marek Weiss for the Polish Royal Opera, the story of the Cretans is the point of departure for creating a musical fantasy. Myth intertwines with history, and the operatic tradition, which flourished in the Commonwealth during the reign of the art-loving King Stanisław, resonates in a performance full of finesse.
MUSIC DIRECTOR DAWID RUNTZ
STAGING AND DIRECTION MAREK WEISS
DIRECTION COLLABORATION, CHOREOGRAPHY IZADORA WEISS
SET DESIGN WIESŁAW OLKO
SET DESIGN COLLABORATION ŁUKASZ KWIETNIEWSKI
COSTUMES PAPROCKI & BRZOZOWSKI
VIDEO PROJECTIONS MAREK ZAMOJSKI
CHORUS MASTER KAROL KNAPIŃSKI
II CONDUCTOR KAROL SZWECH
ASSISTANT DIRECTORS SŁAWOMIR JURCZAK, AGNIESZKA KOZŁOWSKA
STAGE MANAGER WANDA KARPIŃSKA
CAST
IDOMENEO KAROL KOZŁOWSKI
IDAMANTE ANNA RADZIEJEWSKA
ELETTRA ANNA MIKOŁAJCZYK
ILIA SONIA DETTLAFF
ARBACE / GRAN SACERDOTE DI NETTUNO MATEUSZ ZAJDEL
LA VOCE PAWEŁ MICHALCZUK
FURIES JULIA WITCZAK, NIKOLA ZIENTARSKA
TSARINA TATIANA HEMPEL-GIERLACH
HARPSICHORD MONIKA KOLASIŃSKA
THE CHORUS OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA
THE ORCHESTRA OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA
CONDUCTOR KAROL SZWECH
Duration: approx. 2 h (with an intermission)
The seats in the auditorium are not numbered.
PLEASE NOTE: The entrance to the Royal Theatre is located in Agrykola street.
PATRON OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA
