Idomeneo 2, Opera San Jose, Sept. 22 2011

Back to the California Theatre to see the “other” cast perform Mozart’s Idomeneo, and to refresh my memory on the sets. From my orchestra (rather than balcony) seat, I could see that the ceiling of the opening set was also painted. Most of the painting was of geometric designs; the wall on the left depicted porpoises. Elettra’s first act aria is performed in front of a dark-gray-on-black backdrop while a scene change is made behind; she is accompanied (visually) by her handmaidens (dancers) who dramatize her mental state. The diorama forming the backdrop of the second scene was the plastic/cellophane material, unpainted. When the curtain goes up for Act 2 (which is actually the finale of Act 1, perhaps they had intermission “early” to make the two acts closer to the same length), the diorama features a painting of ships at sea; at the left there is a depiction of a village at the base of a mountain. The painting is a reproduction of an artwork from the island of Santorini, 17th century BC. When the scene shifts to the royal apartments, Idomeneo has a not-very-fancy throne (not a bench, as previously reported) to sit on. Elettra gets to cover another scene change—a large painting of three Cretan women, with eyes on the sides of their faces just as in Egyptian paintings, is hung in front of the dark-gray-on-black curtain. In Act 3, when the scene changes from the small room in the basement of the palace to the gigantic Palace of Knossos, it is covered by a recitative by Arbace in front of the dark-gray-on-black curtain. For this production, they cut Arbace’s aria in which he offered himself to be sacrificed instead of Idamante. The palace does have three levels. The final scene change is covered with Idomeneo’s “Torna la pace” (Peace has returned), sung in front of a large painting of a Cretan warrior.

Our cast:
Idomeneo: Christopher Bengochea
Idamante: Aaron Blake
Ilia: Rebecca Davis
Elettra: Christina Major
The Voice: Silas Elash
Conductor: George Cleve
Director: Brad Dalton

Rebecca Davis made an outstanding Ilia. Christopher Bengochea started in less than top form, but by the end of the evening he was displaying a power in his voice that came across as authority rather than just volume. Christina Major sang Elettra beautifully, although her acting make it look as though Katisha had somehow wandered into this performance. In 1786 Mozart rewrote the castrato part of Idamante for a tenor, and this performance did not make a convincing argument for presenting that version. Perhaps the tenor voice lacks the agility of the mezzo-soprano voice. My understanding is that the rewriting made only minor changes, and then mainly in the ensembles rather than in the solo arias. Silash Elash’s The Voice was even more impressive in my orchestra seat than in my balcony seat.

Another wonderful evening, again better than beta, not quite alpha.