Anthony Roden
Recorded live at The Glyndebourne Festival Opera. Idomeneo, King of Crete, has been away from home during the long years of the Trojan War. Idamante, his son and now regent of the island, waits for his return, heralded by the arrival in Crete of Trojan prisoners. One of these prisoners is Ilia, daugher of the murdered King Priam of Troy. Idamante has fallen in love with Ilia, but is loved by Electra, daughter of the Greek King Agamemmnon, who has taken refuge in Crete. This production marked the operatic debut of Trevor Nunn. It has been much-acclaimed for its dramatic effect, blending Minoan Crete with the ritualistic delicacy of Japanese theatre. This dynamic stylisation is appropriately reclected in John Napier's considered and elegant designs. Bernhard Haitink conducts the London Philharmonic in a forceful account of the music.
There is a war in the world between the men and the women. A young girl tries to escape this reality and comes to a hidden place where a strange unicorn lives with a family: sister, brother, many children and an old woman that never leaves her bed but stays in contact with the world through her radio.
