The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Varesco from a French text by Antoine Danchet, based on a 1705 play by Crébillion père, which had been set to music by André Campra as Idoménée in 1712.

The libretto clearly draws inspiration from Metastasio in its overall layout, the type of character development, and the highly poetic language used in the various numbers and the secco and stromentato recitatives.

The ballet is scored for the opera's full orchestra of flutes, oboes, clarinets (only present in the passacaille), bassoons, horns, trumpets, timpani, and strings.

Throughout the manuscript, Mozart wrote the dancers who would be partaking in a specific section of the ballet; id est, "Pas seul de Mad.

Falgera", or "Pas seul de Mr. [Jean-Pierre] Le Grand", who was the main choreographer for the opera's Munich premiere.

Along with the Chaconne up to the Pas seul, which form a consistent whole via attacca transitions, the manuscript is bound with three other dances; a passepied in B-flat, a gavotte in G (which is rather famous; Tchaikovsky conducted it at one of his Russian Musical Society concerts),[5] and an unfinished passacaille in E-flat.

[8] The opera apparently owed much of its success at its first performance to the set designs: a notice in the Munich press did not mention Mozart by name but said (translation): "The author, composer and translator are all natives of Salzburg; the decors, among which the view of the port and Neptune's temple were outstanding, were masterpieces by our renowned theatre designer, court Councillor Lorenzo Quaglio, and everyone admired them tremendously.

Mozart fought with the librettist, the court chaplain Varesco, making large cuts and changes, even down to specific words and vowels disliked by the singers (too many "i"s in "rinvigorir", which in Italian are pronounced as in bee).

Later in 1781 Mozart considered (but did not put into effect) revisions that would have brought the work closer into line with Gluck's style; this would have meant a bass Idomeneo and a tenor Idamante.

Thus Munich commissioned an Idomeneo revision from Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, performed in 1931, and the same year the Vienna State Opera presented a distinctively interventionist version of the score by Richard Strauss.

In 1984, New York's Mostly Mozart Festival presented Strauss's version with Jerry Hadley in the title role, Delores Ziegler as Idamante, and Alessandra Marc as Ismene.

[15] The instrumentation is: The overture, in D major and common time, is in a modified sonata form in which the development is but a very short transition section connecting the exposition with the recapitulation.

Trojans and Cretans together welcome the return of peace, but Electra, daughter of the Greek King Agamemnon, is jealous of Ilia and does not approve of Idamante's clemency toward the enemy prisoners.

When Idomeneo finally realizes the youth that he must sacrifice for the sake of his vow is his own child, he orders Idamante never to seek him out again.

At the port of Sidon (a fictional city of Crete), Idomeneo bids his son farewell and urges him to learn the art of ruling while he is away.

In the royal garden, Ilia asks the breezes to carry her love to Idamante, who appears, explaining that he must go to fight the serpent.

The High Priest tells the king of the destruction caused by Neptune's monster, urging Idomeneo to reveal the name of the person whose sacrifice is demanded by the god.

As Idomeneo fears new reprisals from Neptune, Idamante enters in sacrificial robes, saying he understands his father's torment and is ready to die.