The key event that drives the plot in “Idomeneo” is a ruler making a promise that he is reluctant to fulfill, which leads to disaster. The situation sounds contemporary but the opera takes place shortly after the Trojan War. The Mozart opera, which premiered in 1781 when the composer was just 25 years old, is back at the Metropolitan Opera with a first-class cast and the venerable James Levine conducting.
The 1982 production starred Luciano Pavarotti.
