On 29 January 1781 Idomeneo, K. 366, received its first performance at the Cuvilliés-Theater in Munich.  It was Mozart’s second opera for the Munich court, the first being his opera buffa La finta giardiniera of 1775.<br>
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Apparently the Munich court itself chose the subject-matter of the new opera: the tragedy Idoménée by Antoine Danchet, in André Campra’s operatic setting of 1712.  It also provided detailed written instructions as to how the material was to be reworked into an Italian opera libretto.  These instructions – the “plan”, as Mozart and his father referred to them in their correspondence – has unfortunately disappeared.<br>