Idomeneo at the Auckland Town Hall Concert Chamber

By WILLIAM DART

The sheer courage of taking on Mozart's Idomeneo merits a full round of applause.

This is the most daunting of all his stage works, written in unyielding opera seria style and clocking in at more than four hours.

Yet Auckland Opera Studio and Auckland Chamber Orchestra achieved what might have seemed the impossible. Trimmed to a sleek two-and-a-half hours, the piece gained a smoother narrative in the process.

Idomeneo was a striking piece of theatre and the capacity audience was not disappointed. The characters were eminently and sometimes tragically human, especially in the fine ensemble pieces, such as the gripping recitative ensemble leading into the quartet Andro ramingo e solo.

Simon O'Neill's Idomeneo was a forthright hero, if occasionally overprojected for the space, delivering the great Fuor del mare as if it had been written for him.

Anna Leese's Ilia was sung with consummate lyricism and, in arias like Zeffiretti lusinghieri, the young singer showed a remarkably mature understanding of Mozartian line. If there was sometimes an edge to Sarah-Jane Rennie's voice, it could have been seen as part and parcel of Elettra's fiery disposition.

Georgia Hawes' Idamante was a cooler conception and the Australian mezzo gave us a neat, well-turned trouser role, inspiring some intensely dramatic interaction with O'Neill. Shaun Dixon and Jack Bourke offered solid support as two priests.

The climax for many was the appearance of Zeus, as memorable for the Wagnerian premonitions of Mozart's brass writing as it was for Daniel Keeling's resonant pronouncements. The choristers of Musica Sacra, set high on scaffolding in front of the stage, unfortunately lost some of their impact through their seating arrangement.

Conductor Peter Scholes and his Auckland Chamber Orchestra achieved miracles with an extremely difficult score. Some scuffed playing was probably unavoidable, particularly in the accompanied recitative, where ends of phrases were often frayed. Woodwind offered the crispest playing of the night.

Director Patrice Wilson's vision of Idomeneo was sometimes mystifying and the activities of the Mau Dance Company tended towards the distracting. But Wilson's lean, minimalist approach to the whole venture, coupled with her experience in straight theatre, put life into a work that could so easily have been a museum piece.