Idomeneo, by common consent Mozart's greatest serious opera, is a rich synthesis of the dramatic potentialities of Italian opera seria, French tragedie lyrique, and recent German opera. It was composed for the finest orchestra in Germany and some excellent singers. Mozart's relish of the challenge and his problems with some performers and the bureaucracy are uniquely documented in his letters home and these form the basis here of a vivid account of the genesis of the opera. A detailed synopsis relates the musical and dramatic action of the opera, while further chapters trace the historical development of its subject-matter 'from myth to libretto' and chart the opera's performance history, including a description of Richard Strauss's 1931 reworking. Later chapters consider the opera's general structure and musical forms, and analyze passages of particular interest.