The Clemency of Titus: A Grand Drama Worthy of an Empire

M22 DVD: LA CLEMENZA DI TITO (The Clemency of Titus)

This DVD of a live performance from the 2003 Salzburg Summer Festival production of Wolfgang Mozart’s last opera is my favorite despite of some oddities like the choreography of the chorus through out the opera and of the boys in underpants at the beginning and the end.

The staging at Felsenreitschule is darker and, even with some really abstract choreography, is the most dramatically compelling take on this opera than any others available on DVD, in my opinion. It is a modern and conceptual staging, containing some very sexually suggestive scenes (though not gratuitously so. You have to tell how Vitellia manipulates Sesto somehow). This production was revived in 2006 as part of the M22 project when the Salzburg Festival staged all 22 opera by Mozart and recorded them for posterity.

Mozart was commissioned to set music to this old text for the 1791 coronation of Emperor Leopold II of Bohemia. The story is of the failed assassination attempt on the Roman Emperor Titus Vespasiano (Tito) by his best friend Sextus (Sesto). Tito had acquired power at the expense of Princess Vitellia (whose father, Vitellius, was assassinated in the power struggle). To add insult to the injury, Tito keeps choosing other women to be his empress instead of her (first Berenice, who is only mentioned but doesn't appear in the opera, and then Servilia, the sister of Sesto and the lover of his best friend Annio).

The indignant Vitellia takes revenge by manipulating Sesto (who is madly in love with her) into leading a conspiracy to assassinate the emperor. Sesto stabs the wrong man in the fiery confusion and is caught, but would not give up Vitellia in his confession. This act of fidelity moves Vitellia to confess her own part in the conspiracy in her attempt to spare Sesto from the death sentence. How merciful is Tito? Tune in and find out.

Often dismissed as a politically correct commissioned work as well as its being opera seria in style (dark stories that move slowly with drawn out arias connected by sung speech (recitative). Considered a dated format), Mozart's version of this opera (there are over 40 opera based on this same story) is the only one still being performed today for good reasons. There are 5 of opera's most gorgeous solos, some really wonderful short duets, and 3 marvelous trios in this relatively short work.

The music is not as static as in most other opera seria and he also does a wonderful trick of using the same orchestration for many of the arias that may go unnoticed if you aren't listening carefully. These aren’t really Leitmotifs (recurring themes) like one would find in opera of the Romantic period and beyond, since a Leitmotif usually identifies a specific character. Here they specify specific pathos instead, which can be shared by many characters. The most obvious theme orchestration may be found in the Act II duet between Tito and the Romans, ‘Ah grazie si rendano’, ‘Tardi s’avvede’ (Publio’s solo that immediately follows), and, more forcefully, ‘Tu fosti tradimento’ (Annio’s plea to Tito). There are a few others as well (which y’all can have fun figuring out when you watch this DVD.... You ARE going to watch it, aren’t you?).

This performance mercifully cuts a lot of the boring recitatives (the semi-sung dialogue between the arias). No loss there, in my humble opinion. Most of the recitatives were supposedly done by Mozart's student Franz Sussmayr anyhow.

CAST:
Tito (Mercilessly merciful Roman emperor) ::: Michael Schade (tenor)
Vitellia (An ambitious princess) ::: Dorothea Röschmann (soprano)
Sesto (Tito’s confidant, loves Vitellia more than Tito) ::: Vesselina Kasarova (mezzo-soprano)
Annio (Sesto’s best friend) ::: Elina Garanca (mezzo-soprano)
Servilia (Perky sister of Sesto, lover of Annio) ::: Barbara Bonney (soprano)
Publio (Tito’s loyal captain of the guard) ::: Luca Pisaroni (bass)

Conductor ::: Nikolaus Harnoncourt / Wiener Philharmoniker
Basset-Clarinet Soloist ::: Peter Schmidl, Basset-horn Soloist ::: Andreas Wieser
Chorus Master ::: Rupert Huber / Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor
Stage Director ::: Martin Kusej, TV Director ::: Brian Large

For some great photos from this production, go here: http://www.salzburgfestival.com/fotoarchiv.php?lang=de&archivid=2 and click on La Clemenza di Tito.

See video clips from this DVD at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=76yEKGvg-G4 (Vitellia's Act I Deh se piace mi vuoi)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-Y1yjF29VU (Act II trio Se al volto)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSxMYkJ87Qc (Sesto's Act II Deh, per questo istante solo)

The performance
Blessed by this wonderful cast of singer-actors, Martin Kusej and Nikolaus Harnoncourt are spectacularly successful in bringing this dramatic work to life. You'd be hard pressed to find a more stellar performance of this opera than in this DVD. Most notable are the 3 leads:

The German-Canadian lyric tenor Michael Schade's Tito is something of a demented maniac... of the most convincing nature. We've all heard of tyrants who are in love with power, this one seems in love with his own 'merciful image'. The dude is so relentlessly forgiving, it is as if the act of pardoning satisfies his own ego rather than because he is truly merciful. This makes it very understandable why Sesto would choose Vitellia over him. Though the Romans sing praises to his face they seem more afraid of him than anything. They drop to the ground the moment he starts talking, and scatter for the nearest exit when he dismisses them.

Also revealing is the little Act II duet between Tito and the Romans 'Ah grazie si rendano', with the chorus singing woodenly their thanks to god for his surviving the coup d'etat, while Tito sounds like what he’s really saying is ’Oh but you must believe me, I am really a good guy!’. I don’t think the Romans are buying it, but they can’t very well say so knowing of the blood Tito had shed in his acquisition of the throne.

Vocally Mr Schade is simply the best Tito around! A wonderfully subtle actor and a singer with effective pianissimo (soft singing, though at times verges on inaudibility in this DVD)! His light lyric tenor voice suits the high lying role well. I haven't skipped Tito's arias once in all the 15 times I've watched this DVD (even though he out-paces himself a bit on the virtuosic Act II, 'Se all'impero amici Dei'). Despite being the title character, Titus is not the male lead of this opera, however. That title belongs to Sesto.

As Sesto, originally a castrato role, is Vesselina Kasarova, the Bulgarian mezzo. She is nothing short of mesmerizing. Kasarova conveys unerringly all the range of emotions that Sesto experiences without emoting. Every move she makes and every note she sings contributes to the story telling. She even pulls off the near impossible task in opera of making every sung notes sounds as natural as if people really sing instead of talk to each other in real life!

I know this singing actress has been called 'mannered' by many critics, but if this is mannered, I’ll take it over cold 'note-perfect' singers who look and sound like they’re either bored or don't understand what words are coming out of their mouth any day! Vesselina Kasarova is animated when she sings, but her animation matches perfectly with what the character should be feeling in each moment of the opera. Her Act I aria 'Parto ma tu ben mio' (where Sesto works up the courage to go ahead with the assassination plan) is a study in how to pace oneself to hold the audience’s attention over a long period (about 7 minutes). And the virtuoso ending cadenza is blisteringly fast and accurate (she sings ALL the notes!), beside being very dramatic and successful in conveying that Sesto has gone beyond the point of no return and really has the will to kill Tito.

Her burning of Rome and assassination scene that ends Act I is a true masterpiece in both singing and acting. What spine-chilling self loathing oozing out of the line 'Fu l'uom piu scellerato, l'orror della natura' (it's the most repulsive man, horrible by nature) when Sesto tries to confess to being the murderer! There isn't a more revealing rendition of Act II 'Deh, per questo istante solo' than here either. Not even Maestro Harnoncourt's extra-slow tempo can derail this artist! What wonderful soft pianissimo with ringing blasts of forte for contrast. She has many colors in her voice and makes use of them to great dramatic effects. A 'brava!' isn't enough for this performance... it commands a bravissima!

The German soprano Dorothea Röschmann's Vitellia is a deliciously angry and self-centered princess. She doesn't just cope with Vitellia's obnoxiously difficult music, either, but brings real drama to it. Her low G actually sounds and she does have the high D-flat for the tortuous Act I trio, 'Vengo! Aspettate!', where Vitellia goes berserk upon finding out that Tito had chosen her to be his wife just after she had sent Sesto off to kill him. Not only does is this singing actress up to Mozart's atrociously difficult music, she also copes flawlessly to Martin Kusej's utterly demanding stage direction. This Vitellia spends much of her singing time changing outfit (though is always covered)... among doing other things.

Many others would take it easy on the Act I, Deh se piace mi vuoi, in preserving their voice for the Act I trio and notoriously difficult final rondo, Non piu di fior. Not Röschmann, she comes out full of fight and is able to sustain the intensity through out the entire opera. How would you like to sing a 9 minutes long aria that goes from the G below middle C to high A over 2 octaves higher with coloratura passages right after having sprinted down a flight of stair and have to put on a dress toward the end of it? Röschmann is absolutely amazing in this venomous role and does the best rendition of 'Non piu di fiori' I've heard.. right up there with Frau Kasarova's version on her Mozart Arias CD and Julia Varady's on the Gardiner recording.

As a side note to any other crazy soprani who are asked to sing Vitellia and other role in another opera in the same week as Frau Röschmann was in 2006. Have mercy on your vocal chord and DON’T DO IT!! Vitellia can be a voice-killer even without the added stress of singing another role back to back.

The 3 leads of Kasarova, Röschmann, and Schade share the wonderful ability to make their actions and singing so natural and spontaneous that they don't sound like they're singing rehearsed music at all. This opera is carried absolutely on the shoulders of the Sesto and the Vitellia, that there is a commanding Tito in the same cast is an extraordinary luxury! If any of these three are singing at a venue near you, it will be your loss if you don’t attend.

The rest of the cast are very good as well. The American soprano Barbara Bonney as the noble Servilia generates all the sparks in the lovely Act I love duet with Annio, 'Ah perdona il dolce affetto,' and copes well with having to do her solo aria while lying on the ground. The Latvian rising star mezzo Elina Garanca is vocally gorgeous as the stable and loyal Annio (though decidedly not facially expressive and doesn't seem to agree with her choreography during the love duet). The young Italian basso Luca Pisaroni is vocally perfect as Publio and a convincing actor too (though his Publio looks like he wants to bed Sesto and Vitellia during their Act II trio. Strange choreography).

The staging by Martin Kusej is modern, innovative, and dramatically effective. The set is a see-through, dark 3 story building with no furniture aside from a dresser and a bed that also doubles as the throne, I think..(no set change except for some darkening after the burning of Rome). The singer-actors have to navigate the thing doing their scenes. I like the way Herr Kusej positions the cast in different parts of the building and uses lighting to direct attention to where the main scene is occurring. This makes this opera a lot less static than in all other productions. Wonderful job of directing the actors when they aren’t singing so that nobody looks awkward waiting for the other to finish a song. I especially love Act I 'the burning of Rome' sequence... actions all over the places but easy to follow (with the help of spotlight).

Maestro Nikolaus Harnoncourt sets much slower tempi than other versions of this opera, but the show doesn't drag. There is more exploration of the nuances in the music without dulling it. And he is attentive to his singers and allows even the softest of pianissimo to be heard over the mighty Vienna Philharmonics Orchestra (even though he tortures them with slow tempo on lung-bustingly long phrases).

The Vienna Philharmonics confirms its superiority in Mozart music, and the clarinetists Peter Schmidl and Andreas Wieser are wonderful in the 2 clarinet/bassett-horn obbligato arias (Sesto's Act I Parto ma tu ben mio and Vitellia's Act II Non piu di fiori). These two arias are actually duets between the voice and a solo low clarinet virtuoso miming and commenting on the vocal line while playing the part of the character’s conscience. They are both very well done here. The Vienna State Opera Chorus also sing well and act convincingly. Great teamwork all around!

Aside from the boys in underwear and some strange choreography for the chorus, this is the best DVD of this opera on the market. Highly recommended.

2 DVD. Run-time: 131 min. Sung in Italian with subtitle in: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian. Booklet contains track list and a note on the opera in English, German, and French.

Extra feature: clips of 6 other TDK opera releases on the 2nd disc.

PS: This was my first Epinions essay, actually. I went back to fix (what turns out to be more than) a few things, and ended up doing a complete rework, so I deleted the original and post this as a new review instead.


Reviews of other Mozart opera:
Apollo et Hyacinthus (Salzburg 2006), Ascanio in Alba (Salzburg 2006), Bastien und Bastienne/Der Schauspieldirektor (Salzburg 2006), La clemenza di Tito (Salzburg 2003), La clemenza di Tito (Zürich 2005), La clemenza di Tito (Munich 2006), La clemenza di Tito (JE Gardiner), Cosi fan tutte (Ponnelle film), Don Giovanni (Met 2000), Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Salzburg 1998), La finta giardiniera (Salzburg 2006), La finta semplice (Salzburg 2006), Idomeneo (Salzburg 2006), Idomeneo (Met 198-), Lucio Silla (Salzburg 2006), Mitridate (Salzburg 1997), Mitridate (Rousset), Le nozze di Figaro (live performance- SDO 2007), Die Zauberflöte (ROH 2001), Die Zauberflöte (Modena 2005), Die Zauberflöte (Zürich 1999), Vesselina Kasarova: Mozart Arias, Edita Gruberova: Mozart Concert Arias