A few words about Py's Idomeneo - Aix 2009

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Idomeneo, Re di Creta

Idomeneo Richard Croft
Idamante Yann Beuron
Ilia Sophie Karthäuser
Elettra Mireille Delunsch

Rundfunkchor Berlin
Musiciens du Louvre Grenoble
Direction musicale Marc Minkowski

Mise en scène et lumières Olivier Py
Scénographie et costumes Pierre André Weitz

Aix-en-Provence - 10th July 2009 Arte live broadcast

Olivier Py's production of Mozart's Idomeneo for the 2009 Aix Festival, though pleasant and easy to follow, leaves me a bit disappointed. The staging, a mix of Pierre Audi-like aesthetics and Nikolaus Lehnhoff's iconography, lacks depth and is nothing close to a groundbreaking experience. Fantastic craftsmanship is on display continuously, but the staging remains desperately emotionless. And Neptune and his kitchen knife and hairy chest fails to bring any edginess to it. The ideas are all well-thought and well-polished, but the sets and costumes, all in B&W, create a cold scenery that is reinforced by the lack of any truly vivid actor's direction.

More on the subject:
- "Olivier Py en fait un peu trop avec sa mise en scène d'"Idoménée" de Mozart, à Aix-en-Provence", Le Monde, Marie-Aude Roux
- "Festival d'Aix: Olivier Py débute dans Mozart avec un "Idoménée" bien bâti", Le Point
- "L’«Idoménée» choc d’Olivier Py", Libération, Eric Dahan
- "La frénésie d'“Idoménée” selon Py", Télérama, Fabienne Pascaud
- Olivier Py's interview by France Soir