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.

from notes by Ateş Orga © 2010

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.

from notes by Ateş Orga © 2010

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.

from notes by Malcolm MacDonald © 2011

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.

from notes by Ateş Orga © 2010

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.

from notes by Ateş Orga © 2010