Mozart Overture to Idomeneo

Overture to Idomeneo

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is unique among even the greatest composers in his unsurpassed versatility; composing important compositions in every single category or genre of music known to the 18^th century. Because the 20^th century musical world gives prime attention to the concert hall, it is easy to forget that Mozart pursued success as a composer of opera above all else. For a man who died just short of his 36^th birthday, it is amazing to consider that Mozart was occupied with operatic projects for fully 25 years, ranging from Apollo Et Hyacinthus (composed at the age of eleven) to La Clemenza Di Tito (written twelve weeks before his death.)

The very first operas written as a child were charming apprentice pieces, followed by a succession of increasingly mature and elegantly crafted works, culminating in the remarkable La Finta Giardiniera (composed at age 18), which seems to look ahead to the Marriage Of Figaro, which would appear a dozen years later. It was with Idomeneo, Re Di Creta [“Idomeneo, King of Crete”] that Mozart made his boldest step into full maturity, creating an opera which, even viewed from the perspective of the great works of his last years, could be regarded as his grandest, most ambitious work for the stage.

Mozart had composed several works which could be described as Opera Seria----works of a serious, lofty tone, following operatic traditions which had been in place for a century, and which were soon to be displaced by the more relaxed dramatic elements and varied musical elements which Mozart himself helped to establish in operas such as Figaro, Don Giovanni and Magic Flute. For many years (from the time of Beethoven to the mid-20^th century) writers on opera puzzled over Mozart’s fervent desire to compose a type of opera which clearly was becoming obsolete in its own age. Complicating any clear understanding of Mozart’s ambitions was the basic fact that the music itself was hardly known, and it was assumed that the conventions of Opera Seria were a barrier which would automatically dismiss Idomeneo out of hand. When the work finally began to be given serious attention (in the 1950s), there was widespread surprise to discover how imaginative and flexible was Mozart’s manipulation of those Opera Seria elements, and, above all, the astounding energy and emotional impact of the music itself. Finally, at the end of the 20^th century, Idomeneo has come into its own, and is now becoming a part of the repertoire along-side the later, popular Mozart operas.

A major factor in Mozart’s approach to composing Idomeneo was that the opera was to be introduced in Munich by a company of singers and instrumentalists whom Mozart had known from their earlier home, the court in Mannheim. The famous Mannheim orchestra was widely hailed as the finest in Europe, especially notable for its splendid wind players. The Mannheim orchestra included clarinets, which particularly attracted Mozart’s attention. This accounts for the remarkably rich orchestral element in the opera, with wonderfully inventive and vivid writing for the winds. In the end, Idomeneo never quite won a secure place for itself, and was revived only once in Mozart’s lifetime, although the composer loved the work perhaps more than any of his other operas.

The Overture is brief and remarkably concise, setting out with a bold ceremonial flourish in a brilliant, fanfare-like D Major, followed by a lyrical secondary theme. There is no real development, instead a prompt return to the introductory material, recapitulated very much as before. As though eager for the drama to begin, the overture unexpectedly winds down into a quiet conclusion, smoothly linking up with the opening scene of the opera.

NCO Concert