5/5 First Rate!
  by drkhimxz (Freehold, NJ, USA)
After reading the reviews already submitted, I can limit myself to an enthusiastic second for Birman and Linton. They say better and in more detail exactly what I would like to say. This is a classy performance in which all the stars and featured players earned high marks for their contribution to the unified group effort and James Levine showed what an orchestra sounds like when it is sharing the spotlight not dominating it.
I have seen the DVD of only one other performance, that in the Mozart 22 box set with Magdalena Kozena, Anja Harteros, Ekaterina Siurina, and Ramon Vargas. On no element of staging and performance is it in the same league with the Mets version.(To be fair, there are astute reviewers who hold the reverse opinion. )

5/5 wonderful performance
  by Sally P. Tubach (Orinda, CA)
A beautiful performance of Idomeneo. Pavarotti is marvelous, so are Frederica von Stade and Hildegard Behrens. Levine conducts a beautiful rendition of this early Mozart opera with its gorgeous music, that should be performed much more often than it is.

5/5 Outstanding Pavarotti Performance
  by B. Sattler (Gold Beach, OR, USA)
Ever since the passing of the Pav, I have been obtaining as many of his outstanding performances on DVD that I can. This one is absolutely superb!

Am still looking for his La Fille du Regiment with Sutherland and not finding it.

But, this DVD I can highly recommend for opera lovers and Pavarotti lovers.

4/5 Great Domingo, but those trouser roles must go.
  by OperaOnline.us (Boston, MA)
Mozart's "Idomeneo", first composed in 1780 had to wait until 1947 to receive its first US premiere at Tanglewood in the Berkshires, and then wait another 35-years before receiving its official welcome at the Met on October 14, 1982 - which is the tape date of this new release from Deutsche Grammophon, on a digitalized 2-DVD package. With a cast featuring Pavarotti, singing the role of Idomeneo ( the father who offers a sacrifice of the first life he encounters if the gods will spare him from the fate of an angry sea), Frederica von Stade, singing the role of his son Idamante (the first person he encounters) (I don't know why the Met cast a woman in the son's role, since even Mozart saw fit to change the role of son from castrato to tenor in 1786), Ileana Cotrubas singing the role of Trojan princess Illia, and Hildegard Behrens, singing the role of Princess Elattra. It is a powerhouse cast that delivers mesmerizing performances to some of Mozart's most poignant and subtle, full and supportive music. It is a joy to hear and a pleasure to watch - even with a few shortfalls in the manner of Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's somewhat drab settings and dark lighting. Another small minus is the aged ":full screen" as opposed to contemporary "widescreen" presentation. Still, watching this cast perform is its own reward. The digital audio simply enhances the sound of the Met orchestra, and James Levine delivers a solid lead with decisive shading that is perfectly matched to the size and sound of the ensemble cast on stage - whether solo or chorus. This is a worthwhile DVD to own, and not the least of which reason for owning it is the pleasure of watching Pavarotti's hypnotic magic and natural performance and movement on stage. A review from OperaOnline.us.

3/5 THIS IS NOT AN EXCELLENT PRODUCTION...I AGREE!
  by V. FH (RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL)
Well, I cannot explain why I insisted in buying this DVD. I knew the main singers here are not Mozart specialists.
Pavarotti doesn't know what style is, although always delivers an excellent vocal performance. He slightly portrays Idomeneo here...what a miracle!
I won't comment all the singers...
The deception here comes with the role of Elletra sung by a guttural Hildegard Behrens, who is not well fit to italian roles, and shouts a magnificent Wagner...
She just destroys this role with her glottal attacks, always gargling marbles, destroying the coloratura, especially at the aria "D'Oreste, d'Ajace". She doesn't have full command of italian, and hardly knows what dicction means...
Illeana Cotrubas as Ilia is a joke. She shakes all the time...she must have been retired instead...What a wobble!
Anyway, I recommend it to those who are opera fanatics and collectors. The staging, costumes, scenic conception are excellent, though. And there are singers like Pavarotti and Von Stade to minor these shortcomings...