Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito by Opera Theatre of St. Louis

Mozart interrupted work on one of his genuine masterpieces, The Magic Flute, to write Clemenza di Tito in response to a commission from the Prague National Theatre in 1791. They needed a ceremonial piece to celebrate the coronation of King Leopold II and since Mozart had been trying to get some patronage out of Leopld for the past year, it probably looked like a golden opportunity for the perennially-impoverished composer.

The original libretto, by the ever-popular Metastasio, was an obvious choice. It's based on the historical Roman Emperor Titus who was apparently the Platonic ideal of the benevolent despot, routinely forgiving his enemies and ruling with wisdom and justice. Mozart had the Viennese court poet Mazzola revise and shorten the script in keeping with then-fashionable notions of what constituted "a true opera" (i.e., one employing elements of both opera buffa and opera seria for those of you who may be taking notes on this), along with some very Masonic/Christian notions of forgiveness and repentance. The final result makes Titus look more like a saint than an earthly ruler, and Leopold must have been highly flattered at the comparison.

The OTSL production boasts very fine performances from the principals, especially Elizabeth Printy as the scheming Vitella, whose lust for Titus' throne (if not for the emperor himself) nearly destroys both herself and Titus' best friend Sextus. Printy fills out the character with lots of convincing and well-chosen stage business, some of which helps make Sextus' obsession with her a bit more comprehensible the text allows, and she's more than a match for Vitella's very demanding and wide-ranging arias.

In keeping with opera seria tradition, the principal young male roles in Clemenza are sung by women. Kristine Jepson is surprisingly persuasive as Sextus, and actually generates some sexual tension in her scenes with Printy. I say "surprising" because I've always found it difficult to suspend disbelief when faced with "pants" roles in twentieth-century dress, and director Neil Peter Jampolis has set the action in Fascist Rome - more about that odd choice below. Julia Anne Wolf is also impressive in the supporting role of Annius, Sextus friend and confidant.

In the title role, John Horton Murray is generally in good voice, although he had a bit a trouble with some florid passages in one of Titus' Act II arias when I saw the show. He acts the role in such a generally deadpan fashion, however, that he frequently seems at odds with both the text and the music. Whether this is his choice or Jampolis' is far from clear. Given the fact that Jampolis' updated setting seems designed to completely undercut both the libretto and the music, the latter is certainly possible.

I share St. Louis Post-Dispatch critic Phillip Kennicott's bafflement over the decision to set Clememza in the Italy of the not-even-slightly benevolent despot, Mussolini. If, as Jampolis says in his notes, "our Titus is not Mussolini", why go to so much effort to make it appear that he is? If this is actually an attempt to contradict everything in the opera, it strikes me as perverse and a bit disrespectful. And if it's not, it's just a pointless gimmick. Either way, I don't think Mozart, Metastasio, or Mazzola are well-served by it.

If you can ignore Jampolis' Fascist imagery, this is a solid production of one of Mozart's second-tier efforts. Sets and costumes are polished as usual, and the OTSL orchestra sounds fine under Mario Bernardi. Ditto the chorus in the big finale scenes of Acts I and II. When all is said and done, though, I'd have preferred keeping it in ancient Rome and letting it go at that.

The Opera Theatre of St. Louis production of Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito continues in rotating repertory with three other operas through June 29th at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University Campus. Call 961-0644 for ticket information.