La clemenza di Tito, K621

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Act 1: Overture

Southbank Sinfonia, Simon Over (conductor)

Track 8 on SIGCD189 [4'56] Download only

An opera seria in two acts and the first of the Mozart canon to reach London (in 1806), La Clemenza di Tito, written within a month, was first performed at the National Theatre in Prague, 6 September 1791, the day of the coronation of Leopold II, the Holy Roman Emperor, as King of Bohemia. The libretto, by Caterino Mazzolà, adapted from Metastasio and set previously by Caldara and Gluck, draws on incidents in the life of the Flavian Emperor Titus, ‘the delight and darling of the human race’, told by Suetonius in the eleventh chapter of his Lives of the Caesars. Flanked by imperial flourishes, the Overture, a sonata essay in C, is scored for the standard ‘Beethoven’ orchestra of the late Classical period.

Act 2 No 20: Se all'imperio

Andrew Kennedy (tenor), Southbank Sinfonia, Simon Over (conductor)

Track 11 on SIGCD189 [5'11] Download only

Se all’impero, amici Dei,
necessario è un cor severo;
o togliete a me l’impero,
o a me date un altro cor.

Se la fé de’ regni miei
coll’amor non assicuro:
d’una fede non mi curo,
che sia frutto del timor.

If a hard heart is necessary to a ruler,
ye benevolant gods,
either take the empire from me
or give me another heart.

If I cannot assure the loyalty
of my realms by love:
I care not for a loyalty
that is born of fear.

An opera seria in two acts and the first of the Mozart canon to reach London (in 1806), La Clemenza di Tito, written within a month, was first performed at the National Theatre in Prague, 6 September 1791, the day of the coronation of Leopold II, the Holy Roman Emperor, as King of Bohemia. The libretto, by Caterino Mazzolà, adapted from Metastasio and set previously by Caldara and Gluck, draws on incidents in the life of the Flavian Emperor Titus, ‘the delight and darling of the human race’, told by Suetonius in the eleventh chapter of his Lives of the Caesars. ‘Del più sublime soglio’ (Act I), ‘Ah, se fosse intorno al throno’ (Act I), and ‘Se’all impero’ (Act II) are all arias associated with Titus, first created by Antonio Baglioni—reputedly ‘a man of perfect taste and great musical knowledge’ (Giulietta da Ponte), responsible for the original Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni.

Jeremy Ovenden (tenor), Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Jonathan Cohen (conductor)

Track 14 on SIGCD251 [5'12] Download only

Se all’impero, amici Dei,
Necessario è un cor severo;
O togliete a me l’impero,
O a me date un altro cor.

Se la fé de’ regni miei
Coll’amor non assicuro:
D’una fede non mi curo,
Che sia frutto del timor.

If a hard heart is necessary to a ruler,
ye benevolent gods;
either take the empire from me,
or give me another heart.

If I cannot assure the loyalty
of my realms by love:
I care not for a loyalty,
that is born of fear.

Mozart had hoped to write another opera for Prague after Don Giovanni, but La Clemenza di Tito, K621, which proved to be the last opera he wrote, was actually commissioned by the Bohemian Estates to celebrate the coronation of Emperor Leopold II as King of Bohemia. Though in poor health, Mozart laboured over the work and travelled to Prague to complete it in time for the first performance, which took place in September 1791. His exertions may well have contributed to his death on 5 December. In a sense La Clemenza di Tito (The Clemency of Titus) returns to the old-fashioned form of opera seria, but with the richness and dramatic power of Mozart’s late style. The libretto, as so often, was by Metastasio, and deals with a subject from Roman history – a political drama about a plot by star-crossed lovers against the life of the Emperor Titus. The aria ‘Se all’impero’ is sung by the Emperor himself as, after an internal struggle, he tears up the death warrant on one of the conspirators and declares that if the world wishes to accuse him of anything it will be for having an excess of mercy rather than the desire for revenge.

Duetto: Ah perdona al primo affetto

Rebecca Bottone (soprano), Cora Burggraaf (mezzo-soprano), Classical Opera, Ian Page (conductor)

Track 14 on SIGCD373 [2'52] Download only

Annio: Ah, perdona al primo affetto
questo accento sconsigliato:
colpa fu del labbro usato
a così chiamarti ognor.

Servilia: Ah, tu fosti il primo oggetto,
che finor fedel amai;
e tu l’ultimo sarai
ch’abbia nido in questo cor.

Annio: Cari accenti del mio bene.

Servilia: Oh mia dolce, cara speme.

Annio, Servilia: Più che ascolto i sensi tuoi,
in me cresce più l’ardor.
Quando un’alma è all’altra unita,
qual piacere un cor risente!
Ah, si tronchi dalla vita
tutto quel che non è amor.

Annio: Ah, forgive and ascribe to my former love
this thoughtless word;
it was the fault of lips
always accustomed to call you so.

Servilia: Ah, you were the first person
whom I ever truly loved;
and you will be the last
to be sheltered in my heart.

Annio: Dear words of my beloved.

Servilia: Oh my sweet, dear hope.

Annio, Servilia: The more I hear your words,
the greater grows my passion.
When one soul unites with another,
what joy a heart feels!
Ah, eliminate from life
all that is not love.

Excerpt: Ah, se fosse intorno at trono (Tito)

Andrew Kennedy (tenor), Southbank Sinfonia, Simon Over (conductor)

Track 10 on SIGCD189 [2'25] Download only

Ah, se fosse intorno al trono
ogni cor così sincero,
non tormento un vasto impero,
ma saria felicità.

Non dovrebbero i regnanti
tollerar sì grave affanno,
per distinguer dall’inganno
l’insidiata verità.

Ah, if about my throne
every heart were so sincere,
a vast empire would not be a torment
but bliss.

Rulers should not have to suffer
such deep anxiety
to distinguish hidden truth
from deception.

An opera seria in two acts and the first of the Mozart canon to reach London (in 1806), La Clemenza di Tito, written within a month, was first performed at the National Theatre in Prague, 6 September 1791, the day of the coronation of Leopold II, the Holy Roman Emperor, as King of Bohemia. The libretto, by Caterino Mazzolà, adapted from Metastasio and set previously by Caldara and Gluck, draws on incidents in the life of the Flavian Emperor Titus, ‘the delight and darling of the human race’, told by Suetonius in the eleventh chapter of his Lives of the Caesars. ‘Del più sublime soglio’ (Act I), ‘Ah, se fosse intorno al throno’ (Act I), and ‘Se’all impero’ (Act II) are all arias associated with Titus, first created by Antonio Baglioni—reputedly ‘a man of perfect taste and great musical knowledge’ (Giulietta da Ponte), responsible for the original Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni.

Excerpt: Del più sublime soglio (Tito)

Andrew Kennedy (tenor), Southbank Sinfonia, Simon Over (conductor)

Track 9 on SIGCD189 [3'11] Download only

Del più sublime soglio
l’unico frutto è questo:
tutto è tormento il resto,
e tutto è servitù.

Che avrei, se ancor perdessi
le sole ore felici,
ch’ho nel giovar gli oppressi,
nel sollevar gli amici;
nel dispensar tesori
al merto, e alla virtù?

Generosity is the sole fruit
of the most splendid of thrones:
all the rest is torment,
all else is servitude.

What should I have, were I also
to lose the only happy hours I have
in helping those in distress,
in raising up my friends,
in awarding riches
to merit and to valour?

An opera seria in two acts and the first of the Mozart canon to reach London (in 1806), La Clemenza di Tito, written within a month, was first performed at the National Theatre in Prague, 6 September 1791, the day of the coronation of Leopold II, the Holy Roman Emperor, as King of Bohemia. The libretto, by Caterino Mazzolà, adapted from Metastasio and set previously by Caldara and Gluck, draws on incidents in the life of the Flavian Emperor Titus, ‘the delight and darling of the human race’, told by Suetonius in the eleventh chapter of his Lives of the Caesars. ‘Del più sublime soglio’ (Act I), ‘Ah, se fosse intorno al throno’ (Act I), and ‘Se’all impero’ (Act II) are all arias associated with Titus, first created by Antonio Baglioni—reputedly ‘a man of perfect taste and great musical knowledge’ (Giulietta da Ponte), responsible for the original Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni.

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