Idomeneo at Nationaltheater Mannheim

In dire distress of the Cretan King Idomeneo sets a cruel vow: He promises, the sea god to sacrifice the first person who met him on his safe return ashore. But the first man is his own son Idamante. The king tried to save him by saying, separates him from his mistress, the Trojan princess Ilia and sends with Elektra to Argos, which is also in love with Idamante passionate. This, however, he draws the wrath of God more strongly in coming. In his desperation, Idomeneo offers himself as a sacrifice. Only the sacrifice Idamante who love Illias to Idamante and Idomeneo willingness to power output capability, the tragic entanglement to solve.

The conditions in his Mannheim-time connections helped Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to commission from Idomeneo. The meantime, moved from Mannheim to Munich Elector Karl Theodor asked of him an opera for the carnival season in 1781 and introduced him to the former Mannheimer Hofkapelle the orchestra at that time best available. In Idomeneo the 25-year-old composer combines elements of French and Italian style to a musical theater, that breaks the rigid forms of opera seria and the harrowing human drama takes center stage.