the shore alive, he will sacrifice the first human
being he meets to Neptune. This proves to be his son Idamante, who has
been reigning in his stead during his absence. When he finds out who the
victim is--for at first he does not recognise him--he tries to evade
his vow by sending Idamante away to foreign lands. Electra the daughter
of Agamemnon, driven from her country after the murder of her mother,
has taken refuge in Crete, and Idomeneo bids his son return with her to
Argos, and ascend the throne of the Atreidae. Idamante loves Ilia, the
daughter of Priam, who has been sent to Crete some time before as a
prisoner from Troy, and is loved by her in return. Nevertheless he bows
to his father's will, and is preparing to embark with Electra, when a
storm arises, and a frightful sea monster issues from the waves and
proceeds to devastate the land. The terror-stricken people demand that
the victim shall be produced, and Idomeneo is compelled to confess that
he has doomed his son to destruction. All are overcome with horror, but
the priests begin to prepare for the sacrifice. Suddenly cries of joy
are heard, and Idamante, who has slain the monster single-handed, is
brought in by the priests and people. He is ready to die, and his father
is preparing to strike the fatal blow, when Ilia rushes in and entreats
to be allowed to die in his place. The lovers are still pleading
anxiously with each other when a subterranean noise is heard, the statue
of Neptune rocks, and a solemn voice pronounces the will of the gods in
majestic accents. Idomeneo is to renounce the throne, and Idamante is to
marry Ilia and reign in his stead. Every one except Electra is vastly
relieved, and the opera ends with dances and rejoicings.

The music of 'Idomeneo' is cast for the most part in Italian form,
though the influence of Gluck is obvious in many points, particularly in
the scene of the oracle. Here we find Mozart in his maturity for the
first time; he has become a man, and put away childish things. In two
points 'Idomeneo' is superior to any opera that had previously been
written--in the concerted music (the choruses as well as the trios and
quartets), and in the instrumentation. The chorus is promoted from the
part which it usually plays in Gluck, that of a passive spectator. It
joins in the drama, and takes an active part in the development of the
plot, and the music which it is called upon to sing is often finer and
more truly dramatic than t