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La Clemenza di Tito
Palais Garnier - from 30 June to 13 July 2021
La Clemenza di Tito
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Palais Garnier - from 30 June to 13 July 2021
2h55 with 1 interval
Language : Italian
About
In few words:
If the liaison between Titus and Berenice inspired one of the greatest French playwrights, it was the Roman Emperor himself, an incarnation of absolute sovereignty, that occupied the central position in what was to be Mozart’s last opera. Marking a return to opera seria in its formal constraints and choice of subject, the work nevertheless defies expectations, its humanity shining forth through an obscure clarity in which the hidden melancholy of a score composed by an already declining Mozart is discernible. Willy Decker’s streamlined production offers an exploration of the nature of power in which forgiveness and reconciliation are examined in all their strength and fragility.
CHARACTERS
Titus: Emperor of Rome
Vitellia: Daughter of the ex-emperor Vitellius, deposed by Titus
Sextus: Friend of Titus, Servilia’s brother, in love with Vitellia
Annius: Friend of Sextus, in love with Servilia
Servilia: Sextus’s sister
Publius: Captain of the Roman guard
- Opening
- First part 65 mn
- Intermission 30 mn
- 70 mn
- End
Performances
Book your tickets today with the Season Pass
Available in audiodescription
Advantages
Full
Book your tickets today with the Season Pass
Available in audiodescription
Advantages
Full
Gallery
Videos clips
Audio clips
La Clémence de Titus (saison 20/21) - Acte I - Deh Se Piacer Mi Vuoi
La Clémence de Titus (saison 20/21) - Acte II - Se Al Volto Mai Ti Senti
La Clémence de Titus (saison 20/21) - Acte I - Parto Parto
La Clémence de Titus (saison 20/21)- Acte I - Ah Se Fosse Intorno
Backstage
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Video
Draw-me La Clemenza di Tito
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Slideshow
The Emperor's March
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Article
Imperial Tête-à-tête in La Clemenza di Tito
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Video
La Clemenza di Tito in a nutshell
01:26’
Video
Draw-me La Clemenza di Tito
Understand the plot in 1 minute
If the liaison between Titus and Berenice inspired one of the greatest French playwrights, it was the Roman Emperor himself, an incarnation of absolute sovereignty, that occupied the central position in what was to be Mozart’s last opera. Marking a return to opera seria in its formal constraints and choice of subject, the work nevertheless defies expectations, its humanity shining forth through an obscure clarity in which the hidden melancholy of a score composed by an already declining Mozart is discernible. Willy Decker’s streamlined production offers an exploration of the nature of power in which forgiveness and reconciliation are examined in all their strength and fragility.
© Eléna Bauer / OnP
Slideshow
The Emperor's March
La Clemenza di Tito at the Palais Garnier
Every revival of La Clemenza di Tito offers the opportunity for the Emperor's bust - one of the monumental elements of the set - to travel between the Ateliers Berthier and the Palais Garnier. A closeup on this extraordinary journey in a reportage by photographer Elena Bauer (2013).
© Christophe Pelé / OnP
Article
Imperial Tête-à-tête in La Clemenza di Tito
A production remembered
04’
Angelika Potier : We were very proud to see our creations back on stage for this sixth revival. I must say that the sculpture department did us proud! During the first production in 1997, the biggest challenge for us was reproducing the portrait. The bigger the portrait, the more afraid one is of making a mess of it.
Hebert Desormière : On the subject of the portrait, that of Titus was not our visual starting point. The decorator thought that Titus “didn’t look right for the job” and preferred the portrait of Julius Caesar with its piercing expression.
A.P. Our team at that time consisted of six sculptors to create both the model and the four blocks. This represented about five weeks’ work. It was from the initial model by John Macfarlane that our former head of the workshop created that of the face on which we worked. It was more detailed to make scaling it up easier. Each person was responsible for one stage in the process. The first virgin block, also known as the bloc capable, was realised by a former colleague, Charlie, who had a particular gift for creating the effect of different textures. Hebert made one of the two unfinished busts with the head emerging from the block, whereas I did the final bust of Titus, to which a plinth inscribed with his name was added.
H.D. : For the second unfinished bust, I adapted the steps, which had to be both practical and discrete, because the character, lying on top of the sculpture, has to descend gradually whilst singing. For all four blocks, we used polystyrene, unbeatable for it lightness and malleability. Before the sculptures went to the painting workshop, the composite materials workshop covered them with a fine layer of resin, about one millimetre thick. Being such a fragile material, polystyrene has to be covered with this resin to protect it from knocks.
A.P.: As a spectator, I have very pleasant memories of “La Clemenza”, which for me is pure opera – visually and musically coherent. Through the sculpting of a block, I witnessed the emergence of an emperor: the excess matter was pared away until the portrait of the hero was revealed.Interviewed by Anna Schauder
© Sébastien Mathé / OnP
000:41’
Video
La Clemenza di Tito in a nutshell
Mozart's opera in 40 seconds
At the piano dress rehearsal of La Clemenza di Tito, we placed a camera in the Palais Garnier auditorium to give you a picture of Willy Decker's production of Mozart's opera in 40 seconds flat.