Cover - Viva Lewes

Idomeneo
Son conducts father in Mozart’s Trojan opera
The first thing the young up-and-coming
conductor Nicholas Jenkins does, in our
phone conversation about the forthcoming
New Sussex Opera production of Mozart’s
Idomeneo, is to sidestep the issue of
the severed heads. More of which later.
“There is a lovely story that I do want to
address,” he says. “The first opera I ever
saw, at the age of four and a half, was an
NSO production of Peter Grimes. I remember
it in some detail, mainly because
my father was performing in the lead role.
It inspired me into starting a career in the
business, and now I have begun to establish
myself at home and abroad.” [He has
conducted at the Opera National de Lyon
both in his own right and as assistant to
Marc Minkowski].
“In February I was given the call, last
minute, to step in as conductor of the
NSO’s production of Tobias and the Angel.
This has led to my conducting this
opera, in which my father is performing as
Idomeneus, the lead role. It is a lifelong
ambition of mine to conduct my father,
which is about to be achieved. And when
they hired me for Tobias, they had no inkling
of the connection.”
Idomeneo is a story, what’s more, about
the relationship between a father and son.
A conflicting one, of course, in which the
King of Crete disapproves of his heir’s
choice of fiancée, Ilia, the daughter of
Priam, the defeated King of Troy. “It is
Mozart’s first mature opera,” says Nicholas,
“and it is one of the greatest works in
the operatic repertoire, in which his music
is at its most daring and passionate, as
he pushes the extremes of the emotional
scale, from great joy to terrible despair.”
“The cast is extremely strong,” he continues.
“As well as my father, it is a great privilege
to be conducting Rebecca Bottone, a
wonderful soprano who has started working
at places as esteemed as the ENO. Her
delectable lyrical style makes a wonderful
contrast with the style of Rachel Nicholls,
another exciting singer who is extremely
fiery. Sparks will fly.”
Sparks certainly looked like flying last year, when a Berlin
production of Idomeneo caused an unholy row that went
global. The director, Hans Neuenfels, finished the production
with a twist that had not been in the original opera or
libretto – the appearance of the severed heads of Poseidon,
Buddha, Jesus and Mohammed. An anonymous phone call to
the opera house before the first performance was enough to
persuade the company MD to call the whole thing off, for fear
of Islamic fundamentalist reprisals. An international debate
about freedom of expression and the nature of self-censorship
ensued.
While this production won’t cause such a stir, it does start the
classical season off in Lewes with quite a bang. “It is a concert
version of the story,” says Nicholas, “which means the audience
will have to imagine the scenery and suchlike. But it’s
such a powerful and stirring piece of work, performed with
the aid of a 42-strong chorus, that nobody will be leaving disappointed.”
V Antonia Gabassi
Thursday 17th January, 7.15pm, Lewes Town Hall
W W W. V I V A L E W E S . C O M
O p E r A
Rebecca Bottone courtesy of Arkonas Holt
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