Mozart: Idomeneo
Premiered two days before Mozart's 25th birthday, this is the first opera of his maturity  (i.e., the amazing last 10 years of his too-short life). It is written in a modified form of opera seria,  a Baroque rather than a classical style, with a plot from Greek mythology and rigid structures that  Mozart bent somewhat to his own preferences. It poses stylistic problems quite different from  those raised byDon GiovanniorThe Magic Flute, which are much closer to modern concepts  of opera and, indeed, helped to establish those concepts. Pritchard's interpretation makes  reasonable compromises (mostly short textual cuts) between the old-fashioned form and modern  tastes. The women in his cast are excellent, as are the Viennese chorus and orchestra.  Recommended for those who dislike music on period instruments.--Joe McLellan