Spain Mozart, Idomeneo, re di Creta (concert version): Soloists, Zürcher Sing-Akademie, Freiburger Barockorchester / René Jacobs (conductor). Teatro Real, Madrid, 23.1.2025. (JMI)
Mozart, Idomeneo, re di Creta
Stage director – Benoît de Leersnyde
Cast:
Idomeneo – Ian Koziara
Elettra – Kateryna Kasper
Idamante – Olivia Vermeulen
Ilia – Polina Pastirchak
Arbace – Mark Milhofer
High Priest of Neptune / The voice – Kresimir Spicer
René Jacobs and the Freiburger Barockorchester are frequent visitors to major European theatres, where they play several times a year. Remembering the outstanding performances of early music that Jacobs has led in the past, I was excited to see him conduct Idomeneo. The truth is that all the excitement I had when making the trip to Madrid was dashed, especially in the first half. Neither musically nor vocally were the performances outstanding – indeed, they were frequently boring.
Jacobs’s reading was particularly disappointing in the first part of the opera, where his conducting seemed very monotonous to me. It is true that things improved during some of the second half, but it always fell below what I expected. He led a decent Freiburger Barockorchester as well as the thirty members of the Zürcher Sing-Akademie chorus.
The vocalists also left something to be desired. The part of Idomeneo was sung by tenor Ian Koziara, whose voice has ample volume although his timbre is not bright. He is a good actor – the concert performance was directed by Benoît de Leersnyde – but in many aspects he seemed to confuse Mozart with verismo. In a couple of passages at the end of the opera, he contained this impetus better.
Mezzo-soprano Olivia Vermeulen had the role of Idamante. I have doubts about her being a mezzo-soprano: her voice sounded more like a soprano to me, and her low notes were barely audible. Let us simply say that she did her job.
Elettra was played by soprano Kateryna Kasper, whom I found unconvincing. In her great final aria, a real opportunity to shine, she offered some high metallic sounds that resulted in real screams.
Soprano Polina Pastirchak did well as Ilia: she has a beautiful voice and sang with gusto. The pity is that Ilia is not one of the most important characters in Idomeneo. Kresimir Spicer was sonorous as Neptuno’s High Priest, but tenor Mark Milhofer as Arbace had to resort to falsetto in his aria.
José M. Irurzun