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Mozart - Idomeneo | Harmonia Mundi HMC90203638

Mozart - Idomeneo

Label: Harmonia Mundi

Cat No: HMC90203638

Barcode: 0794881911523

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 3

Genre: Opera

Release Date: 25th May 2009

This product has now been deleted. Information is for reference only.

Gramophone Editor's Choice

Contents

Artists

Richard Croft
Bernarda Fink
Sunhae Im
Alexandrina Pendatchanska
Kenneth Tarver
Nicolas Rivenq
Luca Tittoto
RIAS Kammerchor
Freiburger Barockorchester

Conductor

Rene Jacobs

Works

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus

Idomeneo, Re di Creta, K366

Artists

Richard Croft
Bernarda Fink
Sunhae Im
Alexandrina Pendatchanska
Kenneth Tarver
Nicolas Rivenq
Luca Tittoto
RIAS Kammerchor
Freiburger Barockorchester

Conductor

Rene Jacobs

About

“this new version, beautifully recorded, at its best eclipses
all comers in dramatic tension, not least in the magnificent,
anguished account of the great Act 3 quartet”
Gramophone

"If you're one of those people (and judging by the sales figures there are plenty of us) who are finding René Jacobs' Mozart opera series for harmonia mundi one of the recorded marvels of our time, then another treat is on the way. After a brief tour of performances in concert, Jacobs took Idomeneo into the studio at the start of December. I caught the performance at the Salle Pleyel.

One of the joys of Jacobs' Mozart, apart from the pungent and vibrant orchestral work (the Freiburger Barokorchester), the astounding choral singing (the RIAS Kammerchor) and the viscerally immediate and gloriously mobile recitatives, is the use of what/s fast become a Jacobs company of singers. Step forward Alexandrina Pendatchanska (Vitellia in La Clemenza di Tito and Elvira in Don Giovanni, and Elettra here), Sunhae Im (Servilia and Zerlina to date and here an Illia of mettle but also of enchanting allure: no surprise that Idamante was enraptured) and Bernarda Fink (Sesto in Clemenza and here a heroic and focused Idamante).

New faces and voices this time round merely added to the occasion. Richard Croft, a hugely experienced singer, but one who'd never cropped up on my Mozartian radar, offered a characterisation of the title role that was perhaps more thoughtful than normal, yet he rose magnificently when required: 'Fuor del mar' was a tour de force, his flinty tenor soaring from his quite baritonal tenor voice.

Idomeneo is an opera which seethes with tension and everyone subscribed to the roller-coaster of tension and release (and inevitably more tension). Pendatchanska, a spitfire of an Elettra, provided the last salvo of the evening of fireworks - this is a role tailor-made for her, and she delivered thrillingly. Jacobs is a terrific guide in Mozart - drawing playing of great flare from his Freiburg band… Gardiner's Gramophone Award-winning Archiv set has held sway in Idomeneo for 17 years, I think it's about to get a serious run for its money." - James Jolly, Gramophone

Cast:
- Richard Croft (Idomeneo)
- Bernarda Fink (Idamante)
- Sunhae Im (Ilia)
- Alexandrina Pendatchanska (Elettra)
- Keneth Tarver (Arbace)
- Nicolas Rivenq (Gran Sacerdote)
- Luca Tittoto (La Voce)

3CDs + Bonus DVD:
Filmed in December 2008 in Paris (Salle pleyel) & Wuppertal, Germany (Immanuelskirche)
Format: NTSC, 16:9 aspect ratio
Total time: 45'50
All zones, Eng/Fr/Ger

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