Mozart: La clemenza di Tito
13 March 2014, Cadogan Hall
In effect Mozart’s last stage work (composed a few months before his death, after the bulk of Die Zauberflöte had
been finished), La Clemenza di Tito was a rush job, tailored to please the King of Bohemia at his coronation and
harking back to the grandeur and formality of Italian opera seria. But genius cannot be constrained, and despite the
pressure of time and an antiquated libretto, Mozart lavished music of ravishing beauty and originality on the drama: its
duets, trios and first-act finale are a match for anything in Così or Don Giovanni.
Some of the big arias seem in comparison to belong to a bygone age – and one doubts that Mozart’s heart was in the
marmoreal central character of the emperor Tito with his sanctimonious attitudinising. The other drawback is the
unaccompanied recitative, which on account of the ticking clock was penned by Mozart’s pupil Süssmayr (who would
subsequently complete his master’s unfinished Requiem): verging on the inept, this element poses a problem for every
modern performance, and on occasion has been eliminated altogether.
For Classical Opera’s concert, the conductor Ian Page has done some tactful rewriting, and the resulting pastiche,
moving as unobtrusively as correct punctuation, is unlikely to offend even the most pernickety of purists. More
important, the spirit of the opera was raised by Page’s urgent conducting, crisp orchestral playing (including a notably
eloquent obbligato to “Non più di fiori”) and a terrific cast eager to take full advantage of the wonderful opportunities
Mozart offers them.
Tito is the trickiest role. Was Robert Murray (a late substitute for Andrew Kennedy) confronting it for the first time?
He certainly found the florid passages of “Se all’Impero” an uphill struggle that he may not wish to repeat, but
otherwise sang with sweet-toned suavity and endeavoured to animate a stuffed-shirt personality. Gillian Ramm was
his antagonist Vitellia: she too faced some technical hurdles (hers were in the first-act trio) that she could barely
surmount, but the whiplash dominatrix was sharply presented and “Non più di fiori” sung with panache. Her victim,
the infatuated Sesto, was Helen Sherman, who started tentatively but gained confidence, producing an impassioned
account of her second-act showpiece.
Beguiling singing by the excellent Hanne Hipp and Mary Bevan as the young lovers Annio and Servilia, as well as
Darren Jeffery’s staunch Publio deserve plaudits too: the whole performance had vivid life and electric energy.
**** Rupert Christiansen, The Telegraph
Shorn of the need for directorial interpretation of its neo-classical probity, La clemenza di Tito told its story with
uncompromising, sometimes brilliant directness in Classical Opera’s concert performance. Written in haste to an
already existing libretto and with a toe in the stiff conventions of opera seria, it was for years the also-ran of Mozart’s
mature operas (his last-but one if you go by its premiere three weeks before The Magic Flute; his last if you go by K
numbers, both completed within the three months before the composer’s death). Its plot-equation of love thwarted and
celebrated, of revenge, conspiracy and resolution through Tito’s clemency makes the eyes glaze over when you try to
disentangle it in print, but Mozart’s fluid progress of arias (some of them very short) and ensembles snap the events
and emotions into focus, transcending the seria format at the same time as honouring it.
From the Orchestra of Classical Opera’s nervy, volatile playing in the Overture onwards, you quickly sensed that this
performance was going to be far from a tramp through a series of mood-arias over a swaying bridge
of secco recitatives, with Ian Page and his soloists injecting a wealth of detail and momentum to keep the action
packed and its psychology coherently developed.
Much of this devolved on to Gillian Ramm’s Vitellia, the scheming princess dumped by the Roman emperor Tito,
who manipulates lovelorn Sesto into doing her dirty work by setting Rome on fire and assassinating the monarch. Her
plan for revenge fails, she repents and all is forgiveness. Initially Ramm’s wrath veered towards Queen of the Night
caricature, and she rather overplayed her voice’s astringent penetration, but she grew into this central role to be very
powerful in the challenges of the Act One trio, in which, reinstated as Tito’s bride-to-be, she realises she is too late to
abort Sesto’s treasonous mission. The sheer drama of the trio set up a brilliantly effective Act One finale – top-notch
Mozart, with fiery singing from the chorus and a psychologically astute, opaque close – and Ramm clinched her
incisive portrayal in Vitellia’s moral wrestling-match in her Act Two scena.
She was formidably well matched by the Sesto of Helen Sherman, whose agile, characterful mezzo was superbly
suited to the character’s conflict between loyal love for his friend Tito and his passion for Vitellia. If anything, Sesto is
even more gripping a role than the latter, certainly more sympathetic, and Sherman caught the embattled nobility (with
long echoes of Fiordiligi’s ‘Come scoglio’) in a magnificent ‘Parto ma tu ben mio’ in Act One. The all-forgiving Tito
often comes across as a baroque cardboard cut-out, but this was strongly refuted in Robert Murray’s lyrical, flexible
performance, his thrillingly sung big aria decisively justifying the role as the focus of all the intrigue and passion.
Hannah Hipp, whose mezzo is a voice of outstanding beauty, engaged powerfully as Sesto’s friend Annio, and with
the equally well-cast Servilia of Mary Bevan, the impact of the brief but lovely Act One duet couldn’t fail. Darren
Jeffery transformed Publio’s baroque harrumphing with his nimble, shapely singing.
Page conducted with a winning combination of pace and space, delivering impressive results in the accompanied
recitative as well as in the arias and ensembles. The orchestra provided an elegant, lean sound, with raunchy
contributions from horns and trumpets and superbly played parts for basset clarinet and basset horn. Page had also
revised the recitative (originally delegated by Mozart to Süssmayr, and generally thought rather pedestrian), with a
double bass adding solidity to the continuo.
Peter Reed, Classical Source
“If you deny me generosity, what do I have left? This is the only fruit of kingship. All else is torment and servitude.”
A profound and beautiful meditation on the price and privileges of power, La clemenza di Tito is a moving, intelligent
piece. Classical Opera, displaying a level of talent which quite honestly enriched every listener, brought Tito truly
back to life at Cadogan Hall. We were treated to superb singing, exquisite phrasing, and wonderful playing in a
concert performance which thrilled with energy and commitment.
In his pre-performance talk, a special treat from Classical Opera for the under-35s among us, Ian Page suggested that a
concert performance should be “like reading the book, instead of watching the film”. His idea that, by stripping away
all the business and distraction of an opera production, you can focus more purely on the music and libretto, struck me
powerfully, and the performance resoundingly proved him correct. Rather than an opera on half measures, we have the
composer’s ideas at full blast. While we had no staging, thanks to some excellent acting from the talented principals,
we had plenty of thought-provoking drama.
Creating most of the drama single-handed was Gillian Ramm as a gloriously vindictive Vitellia. Ramm was in
fabulous voice, singing with bristling characterization and a tangible hunger for power which gave her performance
real bite. The emotional heart of the whole opera, meanwhile, came from Helen Sherman as Sesto. Her deeply
affecting portrayal of the anguished, obsessed traitor was a tour de force, and her stage presence was magnetic as she
was torn between her passion for Vitellia and her friendship for Tito. Hanna Hipp was wonderful as Annio, a part
which is slightly limited in Act I but blossoms emotionally later, something Hipp clearly understood and made the
most of in a compelling performance. Mary Bevan was less assured as Servilia, but sang many of her arias with real
beauty. Robert Murray gave a fervent, lyrical performance as Tito. His acting and natural musicality were a delight,
and he negotiated Tito’s complex emotional journey with aplomb. Murray found the emotional centre of this subtle
character and wielded it skilfully. Meanwhile, Darren Jeffery’s rich bass gave the small, but important, role of Publio
a pleasant airing.
The Orchestra of Classical Opera, under Ian Page, created an almost deliriously beautiful sound, playing with
imagination and verve. It is hard to believe that Mozart was to die only a few months after finishing La clemenza di
Tito; the music is unbelievably satisfying, yet keeps you constantly guessing. It is the music of life, not the music of a
dying man. There is such generous munificence of invention: Mozart’s ideas are rich, full of energy, and taste. Always
perfectly proportioned, the score has moments of lightness and restraint which give the whole work immeasurable
elegance. Page’s sensitive revisions to the recitatives allowed Mozart’s ideas to flow freely, and the delicate trios and
duets were a revelation of Mozart’s mathematical precision and vibrant creative genius.
Beyond the sheer joy of its music, La clemenza di Tito paints an eloquent psychological portrait of power, love,
sacrifice and betrayal. Subtle emotional dynamics build while Rome burns: wordless cries from the Chorus (The Choir
of Classical Opera) give an atmosphere of horror. The musical ideas grow and swell as the idea of Tito’s death begins
to sink in, with the tension constantly ratcheting up until finally everyone’s guilt explodes (or implodes) in the final
scene, when Tito finally and astonishingly dispenses mercy in lieu of murder.
La clemenza di Tito comes with a veritable army of apocryphal tales. Mozart composed it (for the coronation of the
Habsburg Emperor Leopold II as King of Bohemia in 1791) in, allegedly, a mere eighteen days; he was second choice,
the Court having originally approached Salieri five times (who flatly refused); the whole production was pulled
together in a matter of weeks, with singers recruited abroad while the music was still being written; and, at the
première, the court was worn out (perhaps quite literally intoxicated) by coronation celebrations that the opera was
pronounced as universally dull. I suspect they must have drunkenly drifted off during the performance, because in the
hands of Classical Opera, it is so beautiful that you want to luxuriate in every exquisitely-wrought note.
Charlotte Valori, Bachtrack ****