17.10.2019

JEREMY OVENDEN as Emperor Titus at the Theater an der Wien

After the internationally renowned Mozart tenor Jeremy Ovenden embodied the role of Idomeneo at the Teatro Real in Madrid last season, he now sings six performances of another central role of his repertoire in October: that of Emperor Titus in a new production of Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito at the Theater an der Wien. The British director Sam Brown makes his house debut; Stefan Gottfried conductors Concentus Musicus Wien.

In his last opera, which was first performed shortly before his death in 1791, Mozart offered a didactic play about clemency and forgiveness. While the ancient régime would have demanded retribution, Mozart’s Tito interrupts the vicious circle of violence and counter-violence by being merciful. In content and musical material, Mozart used the prescribed form of the opera seria for dramatic innovation – in keeping with his enlightened and humanistic ideals.