Tenor Matthew Polenzani regards ‘Idomeneo’ as ‘Mozart’s greatest opera’

When tenor Matthew Polenzani returns to the Ravinia Festival, he will be singing the title role of what he regards as “Mozart’s greatest opera”: Idomeneo. 

“Psychologically it is his most intensive and complete opera, of the ones I’m aware of,” said Polenzani, who, in an interview with the site Opera Wire, ranked this work ahead of the composer’s masterpieces such as The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute. “Even the standard rep works that deal with human relationships and drama, in my view, don’t cut so deeply to the core. Maybe in Figaro, the marital relations and betrayal cut to the core, but in a different way.”  

For two performances Aug. 9 and 11 at Ravinia’s Martin Theatre, Polenzani will head up a semi-staged production featuring the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by James Conlon and directed by Harry Silverstein. Rounding out the stellar cast are soprano Tamara Wilson as Elettra, mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey (Idamante), soprano Andrea Carroll (Ilia), tenor Rodrick Dixon (High Priest of Neptune and a Trojan man) and bass Morris Robinson (voice of the Oracle). Walter Huff is the chorus director.

From the start, Polenzani has earned a reputation as a first-class Mozartean. John von Rhein, longtime critic of the Chicago Tribune, has hailed the tenor for his “beauty of tone, elegance of line and gravitas of manner, reminding us that there are few finer Mozart singers around.” (Polenzani also will perform in recital Aug. 20 at the Martin Theatre.)

“This is just writing that is bigger and better. It is like his Requiem, but times 50.” — Matthew Polenzani on Idomeneo

Born in Evanston, Polenzani is an alumnus of Lyric Opera’s Ryan Opera Center, where he studied from 1995 to 1997. After graduating, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1997, returning each season since and racking up more than 300 performances of 20 roles. One of his most notable Met productions has been Julie Taymor’s version of The Magic Flute. That production made history when the Met chose it as its first Live in HD transmission to cinemas worldwide in December 2006 (and has been rebroadcast several times since).

Polenzani cherishes the depth and power of Idomeneo, especially as evidenced in the title character’s aria “Fuor del mar.” “[Here], the coloratura serves a dramatic purpose for me as the building of pressure,” he said. “I never experienced [that] as a singer singing Rossini. I never experienced the dramatic impetus of coloratura when it came to a vocal line and the way I feel it in ‘Fuor del mar.’ ”

The character’s emotional complexity also appeals to Polenzani. “This is just writing that is bigger and better. It is like his Requiem, but times 50,” he said. “I mean, you don’t get consistent quality like that in any of his other operas. And harmonically it is really forward-looking. He wrote this when he was 24, he had 12 more years to go. I don’t think he came close to this in any of the other things after this. And we have some masterpieces that come after it.”

Set in Crete of 1200 BCE, Idomeneo chronicles the saga of a Greek king ordered by the god Neptune to murder his own son Idamante so that his people are spared from imminent destruction. The opera’s theme of parental love and devotion resonates deeply with Polenzani, the father of three sons.

“One of the things I try hardest to bring out is the love of his child and his need to keep him alive at any cost,” he said. “I relate strongly to that side of him. That fatherly love and fatherly pride through every moment.” With each performance, “you learn a little more each time about the powerful love that binds him to his son.”