afterWARds -
mozart's idomeneo reimagined

Directed by David Paul • January 26, 29, February 1, 3, 2019

afterWARds uses the words and music of Mozart's IDOMENEO – perhaps his most radical, modern opera – in a reorganized and distilled 75-minute format that shifts the opera's focus towards its four protagonists and their timeless struggles for love and peace in a world full of carnage and destruction.

afterWARds is set on the island of Crete immediately after the Trojan War. Idomeneo is the King of Crete. Idamante is his son. Ilia is the Princess of Troy and enemy of Crete, who Idamante rescues from a shipwreck. King Idomeneo promises to kill the “traitor” who rescued Ilia, not realizing it was his son. Meanwhile, Ilia and Idamante begin to fall in love with each other, which infuriates Elettra, the Princess of Argos, who loves Idamante as well.

These four strong-willed characters are caught in a whirlwind of love, betrayal, loyalty, and family as they seek to rebuild their lives.

afterWARds will star Pittsburgh Opera’s award-winning Resident Artists, allowing audiences the rare opportunity to see tomorrow’s opera stars - and hear this beautiful Mozart music - in an intimate performance space. All performances will be in the Pittsburgh CAPA Theater, 111 9th St, Pittsburgh, PA 15222.

Idamante (Antonia Botti-Lodovico) comforts his father Idomeneo (Terrence Chin-Loy). Photo by David Bachman for Pittsburgh Opera.

Elettra (Caitlin Gotimer), Idamante (Antonia Botti-Lodovico), Ilia (Ashley Fabian), and Idomeneo (Terrence Chin-Loy). Photo by David Bachman for Pittsburgh Opera.

Idamante (Antonia Botti-Lodovico), Idomeneo (Terrence Chin-Loy), and Elettra (Caitlin Gotimer). Photo by David Bachman for Pittsburgh Opera.

King Idomeneo of Crete (Terrence Chin-Loy). Photo by David Bachman for Pittsburgh Opera.

Ilia (Ashley Fabian) and Idamante (Antonia Botti-Lodovico) share a tender moment. Photo by David Bachman for Pittsburgh Opera.

Idomeneo (Terrence Chin-Loy) confronts his son Idamante (Antonia Botti-Lodovico). Photo by David Bachman for Pittsburgh Opera.

Cast and Artistic Team

Synopsis

After years of bloodshed, the Trojan War is over and the fighters begin the difficult journey home. Idomeneo, King of Crete and commander of its depleted forces, is sailing home with the remainder of his men. Also on board is Ilia, Princess of Troy, now a refugee who watched her family murdered before her eyes. The overture begins with a massive storm that overturns Idomeneo’s ship. Idamante, son of Idomeneo, braves the storm to rescue whomever he can reach. He rescues Ilia in his boat and returns to shore. Idomeneo and his men are outraged at the apparent betrayal by the unknown boatsman. As he watches his men drown around him, Idomeneo vows, if he survives himself, to kill the unknown young man as a last service to his men. (This sequence is told throughout the overture in a combination of live action and video).

Back on Crete, the opera begins with Ilia in a refugee shelter. As her family’s sole survivor, she is tortured by survivor’s guilt and feelings of betrayal. Yet much more pressingly, she is racked by her newest torment: a secret, inappropriate, and impossible love for Idamante, the young man -- and former enemy -- who just saved her life.

Idomeneo lands on the shore, having survived the storm. Weary from years of war and destruction, he is tortured by the thought of having to kill yet another person. Meanwhile, Idamante, believing his father to have been killed in the storm, comes to the same shore to mourn him. Father and son meet but don’t recognize each other – though Idomeneo knows that this is the man he has sworn to kill. When he discovers their true relationship, Idomeneo runs away, horrified; Idamante is left behind, confused and pained.

We next meet another inhabitant of the refugee shelter: Elettra, a survivor from an infamous family. With the war finally over, Elettra fantasizes, for the first time in her life, about a positive future – with Idamante, the object of her desire, at her side.

Idamante, meanwhile, confesses his own illicit feelings to Ilia. Caught completely by surprise, she rejects him – just as Idomeneo arrives. He senses that his son might have fallen for the enemy refugee, while Elettra panics that Idamante and her imagined future are slipping from her grasp. Idomeneo refuses to speak to Idamante, and seeing no other way to avoid having to kill his own son, banishes him. Idamante is crushed, not understanding his father’s reasons.

Idomeneo has organized a ship to take Idamante and Elettra back to her homeland. Elettra, relieved to hear the sounds of the water, says a happy farewell to Crete. Idomeneo, meanwhile, is tortured by the vow he made and his inability to tell his son the truth. The torment he feels is overwhelming and he contemplates killing himself. Idamante and Elettra arrive and Idomeneo sends them off.

Suddenly, a giant storm whips up, leaving everyone scrambling for safety. Idomeneo, in complete emotional disarray, reads it as a sign from the gods. He screams at the heavens, demanding they take him, instead.

The storm subsides and Idamante seeks out Ilia to say his final farewell to her before committing suicide. Ilia makes a tortured confession of her own feelings. Both are overwhelmed, basking in this unexpected moment of bliss.

Ilia seeks out Idomeneo to try and build a bridge between father and son. In a difficult moment of personal struggle, she explains to him that she is ready to accept him as a friend and father-figure, in spite of her family’s past suffering at his hands.

Idamante arrives. He has learned the true reason for his father’s coldness: his father was trying to shield him from the awful truth of promising to kill him. He is ready to accept his death at Idomeneo’s hands, serene in the knowledge that his father loves him after all. Idomeneo is overwhelmed with emotion when Ilia suddenly volunteers herself in Idamante’s place. Suddenly, Idamante’s gun goes off. Elettra, seeing her future dreams dismantled before her eyes, suffers a nervous breakdown.

Idomeneo, mortally wounded and deeply moved by the love of his son, makes his most courageous decision: to break his vow and allow Idamante to live, regardless of the consequences. All four sing a chorus of love and peace, looking ahead to an uncertain future.

-Courtesy of David Paul

Video Excerpts

Details and Resources

Previews and Reviews

2425 Liberty Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
P. 412-281-0912

afterWARds - mozart's idomeneo reimagined