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Mozart, Idomeneo: Freiburger Barockorchester. RIAS Kammerchor. Conductor: René Jacobs. Centro Cultural Miguel Delibes de Valladolid. 23.11.2008. (JMI)

Concert Version.

Cast:
Idomeneo: Richard Croft.
Idamante: Bernarda Fink.
Ilia: Sunhae Im.
Elettra: Alexandrina Pendatchanska.
Arbace: Kenneth Tarver.
Neptune High Priest: Nicolas Rivenq
Neptune’s Voice: Luca Tittolo.


After producing   Rossini’s Tancredi two years ago and after  last season’s Giulio Cesare,  René Jacobs takes Mozart’s Idomeneo on tour around Europe this year beginning   in  Valladolid, a city that he also visited last spring.

René Jacobs offered the most complete version  of the Mozart opera,  opening up several  recitatives, adding variations for the second part of most of the arias, and deciding to change (for reasons unknown to me) Neptune’s High Priest from a tenor into a baritone, although that   was the only major change  to  the original score for Idomeneo’s premiere.. The only cut in the was Idomeneo’s last aria “Torna la pace”, which Mozart himself had used  in Munich, although later on the mentioned aria became a traditional inclusion. Jacobs’ reading was  full of strength and dramatic feeling, having an exceptional collaboration with the wonderful  Freiburger Barockorchester led by Petra  Müllejans. The RIAS Kammerchor is one of the best groups around as far as musicality goes. It  was a genuine pleasure to listen to an orchestra and choir of such quality. René Jacobs seems to be a conductor who actually completes his work in rehearsals -  it looked as if orchestra, chorus and soloists could manage the opera without him. It was particularly remarkable too  that René Jacobs never looked to the singers behinds, not even giving a single clue to them,  in spite of which there was not the slightest sign of imprecision This would be easier to understand if this concert had been the last one in the tour, but on the contrary it was the first. I always remember what a professor used to tell us,  ‘Practice, practice, practice. Practice makes perfect.’ Maybe Mr. Jacobs knew him.

The cast, in general, was more musical than bright. Idomeneo was  the American tenor Richard Croft, who gave a sensitive interpretation of the unfortunate king of Crete. He is not a  spectacular singer, but he is  very solid and it  is not by  chance that he is also one of  Minkowski’s favourite tenors. He  sang the original and florid version of “Fuor del mar” with some  brilliance, although he seemed almost exhausted at the end of it.

Idamante was Bernarda Fink, one of the most familiar  singers in René Jacobs toure. She  showed  great musicality and good taste in a convincing interpretation - her biggest  problem continues to be some loss of harmonics  in the higher register.

Korean Sunhae Im was a delicate Ilia , but too light for the character. She has an attractive voice, but its volume is quite small, showing some acidic notes too in the passaggio area,  although  things improve in her upper range. I prefer an Ilia with a bigger voice, since the character has many feelings  to express.

Alexandrina Pendatchanska from Bulgaria was a good Electra, with a remarkable  temperament and good  musicality.  For my taste she  needs more consistency at the bottom end of her range  and even a richer middle register. However, she was more than good in the  difficult aria”D' Oreste, d' Aiace”. 

Kenneth Tarver is an American  light tenor with a voice of limited volume. He had the merit of  singing  the two Arbace arias, the first of which is rarely sung on stage. I found him much improved, particularly in vocal projection, since the last time I saw him at Liceu’s Il Viaggio a Reims. Nicholas Rivenq was the surprise choice as the Priest of Neptune.  This French baritone was however, never more than acceptable and his pitch was not always perfect. Italian bass  Luca Tittoto was a very good  Voice of Neptune. He was a pleasant surprise last year as Don Alfonso in Bilbao and he confirmed the positive impression that he made then.

The Valladolid Auditorium was far more crowded than when it opened one year ago, with many people visiting from other cities, particularly from Madrid and Bilbao. The concert was a triumph and all the artists were very well received, although individual  bows were not taken.

José M. Irurzun


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