September 24, 2011

Idomeneo, An opera by Mozart performed by Opera San Jose with George Cleve and the Midsummer Mozart Festival.  By special performance, courtesy of David Packard.  Free tickets.  3 hours and 45 minutes long with two intermissions.  Red carpets, velvet curtains, glass chandeliers, brass hand-rails and beveled mirrors.

Idomeneo

The gods and heroes they’d read about in D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Mythology came to life in lavish sets and costumes accurately depicting the early lives of Classical Minoans in Crete and their conflict with the Trojans.  So wonderful to see the vengeful spurned lover, Elettra – played exquisitely by Christina Major – and her spiteful machinations and dramatics.  The orchestra could not have been without George Cleve, maestro of the Midsummer Mozart Festivals.