MUSIC

Pre-concert talk at 7:00 PM by John Harbison
The Orchestra and Chorus of Emmanuel Music
Ryan Turner, conductor

William Hite, tenor, Tito
Deborah van Renterghem, soprano, Vitellia
Krista River, mezzo-soprano, Sesto
Pamela Dellal, mezzo-soprano, Annio
Susan Consoli, soprano, Servilia
Aaron Engebreth, bass, Publio

La Clemenza di Tito is Mozart’s final opera, composed immediately after The Magic Flute. Its radiant humanity shaped Mozart’s approach to transforming Clemenza’s classic opera seria libretto from its traditional static structure to a path breaking stage work, luminous in its characterizations and achingly beautiful in its emotions. It brings a story of desperate intrigues, unrequited love, and heart-stopping reversals of fortune taken directly from Roman history. Roman aristocrat Vitellia plots the assassination of Tito, Emperor of Rome. Tito’s forgiveness of his enemies catches all off guard, turning the opera’s theme into one of clemency and redemption.