Washington Concert Opera closed their season with a commendable performance of Mozart’s Idomeneo Saturday night at Lisner Auditorium.

The Italian opera seria, arguably Mozart’s first mature opera, builds on the traditions of the Enlightenment, poet Metastasio, and Gluck (coming full circle from his Iphigénie en Tauride, which opened WCO’s season last fall).

Yet Idomeneo still displays the great charm, rich harmony, and varied instrumental colors that would come to define Mozart’s iconic and inimitable style. A couple late cast changes did little to diminish the quality of the final product, and all singers were well equipped to interpret Mozart’s carefully crafted characters and the complexities of his score.

David Portillo headlined as the titular king of Crete. In return for Neptune’s favor in allowing him to return home after being lost at sea, Idomeneo is tormented with the divine obligation to sacrifice the first person he encountered ashore—his beloved son, prince Idamante. 

Portillo aptly conveyed the agony of a loving father, desperate to find any way out of an inevitable tragedy, and the resigned bliss he achieves by the opera’s finale. His bouts of misplaced anger lacked dramatic punch, but there was no lack of intensity in his vocal performance. The first half of the performance ended on a literal high note, with Idomeneo’s stormy aria “Fuor del mar,” Portillo displaying brilliance and virtuosity in the coda of this showpiece aria.

It is easy to understand how a pair of rival princesses would both fall for the honorable Idamante with Stephanie Doche in the trousers role. She carried herself with dignity and tenderness, torn between love and duty, yet with the necessary vocal strength to project through the hall clearly and cleanly.

Amanda Forsythe glittered as the captured Trojan princess Ilia. Dhe displayed an impressive and precise control over each detail from dynamic to articulation. While her masterful technique in the quiet range was truly noteworthy, singing at that dynamic sometimes left her vulnerable to being covered by the orchestra.

Photo: Elman Studio

Aviva Fortunata rounded out the principals as Elettra, princess of Argos and rival to Idamante’s affections. From her first-rate performance, one would never have known that she was a late sub. Fortunata’s delivery was confident, bold, and engaging, strong both vocally and in acting. Her eleventh-hour mad scene “D’Oreste, d’Ajace ho in seno i tormenti” was the standout moment of the evening.

Minor roles were filled by Matthew Hill as Arbace, Jim Williams as the Voice of Neptune, and David Artz as the High Priest. Hill was a charming addition to the stage; though only briefly spotlit, his tone was bright and clear. Williams boomed ominously from offstage as the opera’s third-act deus ex machina, complemented by an unexpected change of lighting and the otherworldly horns, trombones, and rumbling timpani.

Mozart gives the chorus plenty to do and the WCO ensemble proved a rock-solid and well coordinated presence throughout, thanks to chorus master and continuist David Hanlon.

Under artistic director Antony Walker’s animated conducting, both the chorus and the orchestra were guided through the score in satisfying lockstep. A brief moment with a singer slightly out of sync was swiftly reigned in. The orchestra’s playing was precise and clean, though the balance often unduly favored strings over woodwinds in tutti. 

The ensembles were notably well balanced as in the Act II trio and he Act III quartet, where the crisp coordination between the orchestra and the soloists under Walker’s precise direction was as impressive as the singing.

Washington Concert Opera opens its 2026-27 season October 24 with Haydn’s Armida, featuring Lauren Snouffer, Fran Daniel Laucerica, and Shannon Crowley. concertopera.org

Alexandra Jernakoff is a recent graduate of the Catholic University of America, holding a B.A. in music, an M.S. in library and information science, and an M.A. in musicology. She has performed as a chorister, piano accompanist, and oboist for over fifteen years. She currently works as a freelance musician and an emerging performing arts administrator in the Washington, D.C. area.