A terrible storm engulfed Idomeneo’s ship on his journey home to his kingdom of Crete after the Trojan wars. Neptune agreed to spare his life on condition that he sacrifice the first person he meets on land. If it were not bad enough to have to promise to sacrifice another person in order to save your own skin then just imagine how you would feel if this turns out to be your own son! 25 year old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed his great chorus opera, based on a well known myth, on the cusp between baroque and »Sturm und Drang«. This opera seria is dramatic, passionate, complex and psychological.

Jan Philipp Gloger is Head Drama Director at the Staatstheater in Mainz – this is his debut at Oper Frankfurt. He directed Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer at the 2012 Bayreuth Festival. The title role is sung by German/Italian Roberto Saccà, one of the world’s leading Mozart tenors. He has sung Idomeneo in Barcelona and Berlin. The other roles are being performed by members of Oper Frankfurt’s Ensemble, including Martin Mitterrutzner as Idamante, Juanita Lascarro as Ilia and Elza van den Heever as Elektra.