Idomeneo: Ballet Music, K. 367: Full Orchestra, Ensemble Works, Conductor Score & Parts

IDOMENEO, K. 366, is considered Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's (1756-1791) first mature opera, completed between 1780 and 1781. The opera was commissioned in 1780 by Karl Theodor, Elector of Bavaria, for the Munich court's carnival season. The subject, likely chosen by Theodor, was adapted by librettist Giambattista Varesco from a French text by Antoine Danchet, itself based on a 1705 play by Crébillon le Tragique. The plot revolves around Idomeneo, the king of Crete, who struggles with a requirement to sacrifice his own son, Prince Idamante, to the god Neptune, while Idamante and Ilia, daughter to the defeated Trojan King Priam, struggle with their own love for each other. It premiered on January 1, 1781, in Munich at the Hoftheater, Christian Cannabich conducting, though the opera did not find a place in the standard repertory until the mid-twentieth century. Scored with elegance and rhythmic vitality, the BALLET MUSIC, K. 367 serves as a joyous and ceremonial conclusion to the otherwise dramatic opera. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 2.2.0.0: Timp: Str (4.4.3.3.3 in set). Reprint edition of the Mozarts Werke, Series V, Bd. 6, No. 14, editors are Julius Rietz, Paul Waldersee, Victor Wilder, and Franz Wüllner.