Idomeneo caught in a web

Dutch National Opera's production of IDOMENEO, in a direction of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, is visually striking and musically polished, but lacks the emotional depth and dramatic urgency to truly move. It’s a production that captivates the eye more than the heart.

© Filip Van Roe / DNO

​Mozart’s Idomeneo, re di Creta (1781) marks a significant moment in his development as an opera composer. Commissioned by the Munich court, it was an opportunity for the young Mozart to showcase his talent in the prestigious genre of opera seria — a genre already considered somewhat outdated at the time, but one he sought to revitalize with innovative musical ideas. Idomeneo combines the formal grandeur of Gluck and the Italian tradition with Mozart’s own emerging sensitivity to human psychology and orchestral refinement. The work is ambitious, it experiments (over half a century before Wagner!) with the through-composed operatic form, it’s dramatically versatile, and musically rich — though not without structural problems. Giambattista Varesco’s libretto is uneven, the action occasionally illogical, and even Mozart struggled to create a coherent whole. Still, Idomeneo remains one of his most fascinating operas: complex and forward-thinking, yet dramaturgically fragile.

© Filip Van Roe / DNO

​In collaboration with Japanese visual artist Chiharu Shiota, choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui transformed the stage for Idomeneo into a web of long red threads, physically connecting singers, dancers, and actors to one another and to the set. It’s a visually striking concept: these threads make visible the underlying relationships and ties of fate, reminiscent of an extended Norn scene — threads of destiny, threads of memory.
 
Cherkaoui’s choreographic background is unmistakable in every scene. In opera, there is often a great deal of time when characters are on stage but not singing or directly involved in the action. What do you do with that time? It's an interesting question. Many opera productions suffer from stiff stage direction, with characters who are present but visibly lost when they have nothing to sing.

© Filip Van Roe / DNO

​In Cherkaoui’s direction, dancers and singers form a moving chorus that provides commentary on the action through choreography. The result is a staging that breathes visually, one that feels pulsing and alive. But this constant movement has its downside. While the dance is meaningful at first, it gradually loses focus and dramatic strength. At times, the production becomes more of an "exercise in movement" — beautiful to watch, but with a cloying aftertaste, as if something essential is missing: intensity, tension, sharpness. This feeling is reinforced by the sense that the onstage drama is often sublimated rather than embodied — the ballet smooths over where it should cut deep.
 
Musically, the evening brought mixed results. Cecilia Molinari (Idamante) and Anna El-Khashem (Ilia) delivered strong and nuanced performances. Daniel Behle as Idomeneo was solid, though he audibly struggled with his “applause” aria — the virtuosity that should give the aria its brilliance was lacking. Perhaps it’s simply not one of Mozart’s strongest pieces. Even in Nicolai Gedda’s version on Colin Davis's live recording — one of my favorite Mozart opera recordings — I find little to enjoy in it. Jacquelyn Wagner as Elettra was disappointing; her portrayal remained flat, whereas Elettra’s fury should be one of the opera’s expressive highlights.

© Filip Van Roe / DNO

​The ending Cherkaoui devised for Idomeneo was one in the tradition of Lars von Trier — a forcibly dramatic conclusion in which, contrary to the libretto, Idamante and Ilia are killed by Idomeneo. It made no sense. The entire opera follows Idomeneo’s anxiety for his son’s safety. He tries everything to avoid sacrificing him to Neptune, even offering himself in his place. And when Neptune finally offers a way out — relinquishing his crown to Idamante in exchange for the boy’s life — Idomeneo instead murders both Idamante and his beloved Ilia. Again, it makes no sense. Deviations from what the libretto and music communicate must still maintain a relationship with them. An alternative interpretation can challenge or even contradict the original intent, but it must remain emotionally and dramatically grounded — you can’t simply erase the text.

This Idomeneo is visually enchanting and at times musically glowing, but ultimately lacks the dramatic edge and emotional core that can truly bring the opera to life. The red threads stretched across the stage make many things visible but don’t always manage to move. What remains is an elegant, aesthetic production that intrigues but doesn’t cut very deep — a work of art you admire, but don’t fully feel.

IDOMENEO, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart / Dutch National Opera, 20 February 2026

Conductor Laurence Cummings
Netherlands Chamber Orchestra
Director and Choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
Set Design Chiharu Shiota
 
Idomeneo Daniel Behle
Idamante Cecilia Molinari
Ilia Anna El-Khashem
Elettra Jacquelyn Wagner
Arbace Linard Vrielink
 
Chorus of Dutch National Opera
Dancers of Eastman
 
A co-production with Grand Théâtre de Genève and Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg

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- Wouter de Moor