La Clemenza di Tito – Royal Opera House, London (LAST CHANCE TO SEE)

My first opera outing post-lockdown is a late work by Mozart. I’m undecided on whether this is a masterpiece, but it’s definitely an entertaining evening out.

La Clemenza di Tito [The Clemency of Titus]

I have said to you before that I’m not the best qualified reviewer of ballet. Or classical music. Let’s just go ahead and lump opera in there, shall we? But I come at all cultural events with a curiosity to learn more, understand and appreciate, so let’s hope that gets us some way in the right direction. This was the Royal Opera House’s first production out of the gates after reopening on 17 May. I’m a little confused as to why it’s such a short run (only four performances between 17 and 23 May), but I’m sure they know what they’re doing.

La Clemenza di Tito is a late opera by Mozart (he wrote it in the year he died). I wasn’t familiar with it, but found it musically to be quite pleasant; nothing at all of it stuck in my mind the next day, but the 2.5 hour running time passed quite quickly. Mozart wrote it on commission to celebrate the coronation of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, as King of Bohemia. No surprises then that it’s about an eminently benevolent ruler.

The Tito of the title is Titus, Roman emperor for only two years (79-81 CE). Titus generally had a good reputation, aside from a scandalous relationship with a Jewish queen named Berenice. The libretto (basically lyrics for those of us who are not opera-savvy) for La Clemenza di Tito long pre-date Mozart’s musical accompaniment. In fact, they had already been set to music about 40 times before Mozart’s version in 1791. The story follows Vitellia, who is annoyed that Titus has not proposed marriage to her. She convinces his friend Sextus, who is in love with her, to kill Titus. That doesn’t quite go according to plan, but luckily Titus really loves clemency, so things turn out ok for Vitellia and Sextus (and Titus) in the end. How’s that for a quick summary?

A Roman Story With A Modern Setting

Two things about this opera will strike any viewer right away. The first is that women are playing some of the male roles. Emily D’Angelo plays Sextus (as a footballer), and Angela Brower plays his friend Annius. The role of Sextus was originally a castrato role, but castratos are hard to come by these days (for good reason). It seems that the role of Annius has always been played by a woman. I found this a little odd – almost like it introduced unexplored LGBTQ+ themes. I found it particularly hard to forget the gender-swapping as D’Angelo plays Sextus very young, more like a schoolboy than a young politician or soldier or whatever he is.

The other striking thing is the set and costume. Far from being Roman, it’s more like a de Chirico painting come to life. It’s all simplified Roman architecture with mid-century Italian styling, strong geometric design and stark light and shadow. The chat amongst fellow audience members was mixed, but I liked it.

And of course I should probably tell you about the performances! Boyishness aside, D’Angelo has a rich voice well-suited to this part. Nicole Chevalier as Vitellia was a standout, particular in the upper range; it was impressive how effortless she made it seem. Edgaras Montvidas was also convincing as Titus – it is a role which requires some strong emotions and quick shifts in tone, which I thought he handled well.

All in all I thought I found it an enjoyable evening. I liked that it was an opera that is about being true to yourself (and truthful), rather than “everyone dies” or “they all lived happily ever after.” Presumably it will come back in rotation at some point soon so this non-expert says go and see it!

On its own merits: 3.5/5
Implementing Covid rules: 3.5/5

La Clemenza di Tito on until 23 May 2021

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