Copenhagen
opera house is probably the second best known modern opera building in the
world after Sydney. The house was finished in 2004 on an island in the central
parts of Copenhagen. It was an experience in itself to arrive to the opera by a
small ferry. A really nice-looking house from the outside and beautiful
chandeliers in the foyer; worth a visit even without operas. However, I visited
it to see Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera “Idomeneo”. I saw the premiere of
this joint production of Royal Danish Opera, Teatro Real de Madrid, Deatro
dell’Opera di Roma and Canadian Opera Company.
“Idomeneo” tells
about the king of Crete Idomeneo. who – after years of absence - is returning
from war. A storm hits him on the sea and to placate Neptune (the god of sea)
he promises to sacrifice the first person he meets when he lands to the god.
Naturally this first person is his own son, Idamante. He tries to wiggle out of
his promise by sending Idamante away and offering himself as the substitute.
When Idomeneo has been at war, Idamante has fallen in love with Ilia, who is a
prisoner of war, daughter of the defeated king of Troy. Ilia also loves
Idamante, but she is not the only one. Electra, who is the daughter of another
Greek king, has taken refuge in Crete after his parents have died and she also
loves Idamante. In the end Idamante insists that he will be sacrificed, but
Ilia will not have that and offers her life instead. And of course, at this
point, Neptune intervenes and says that nobody needs to be sacrificed after
all, but Idomeneo must abdicate and Idamante should become the new king and
marry Ilia. As you can guess, everybody is happy except Electra, who kills
herself.
The
director Robert Carsen (with Maria Lamont) had taken the story to modern times
and surprisingly well. Yes, the references to Greed gods like Neptune and
Minerva sound a bit funny, but otherwise the idea of a ruler and prisoners of
war/refugees works: military uniforms, fences, an empty beach with life vests
and tents reminds the spectators only too well, that wars are endless and
people suffer now just like they did centuries ago. Video design by Will Duke
create truly realistic effects on stage. I really liked this production.
Idomeneo is
not among the most popular Mozart operas. Even though it is partly easy to
recognize as a Mozart piece, especially in some chorus scenes it reminded me of
Verdi. Stunning! The Danish Royal Opera had made a decision to make the crowd
scenes really impressive and they had hired 90 extras for that. And it worked!
The crowd scenes were great even when only part of the people were actually singing.
The soloist
were very well chosen. Niels Jørgen Riis as Idomeneo, Gert Henning-Jensen as Idamante, Margaux de
Valensart as Ilia and Sine Bundgaard as Electra were all good. My personal
favourite was Sine Bundgaard. She was absolutely fantastic swaying between love
and jealousy. She has a gorgeous voice that really suited this role.
The Royal Danish Opera Orchestra was directed by Julia Jones and they did a great job. At least this premiere was a shining example of exact, passionate music.
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