"Power cannot look mild enough." (Jean Paul)
A story between power, powerlessness and empowerment, an ambivalence between ardent love, cold greed and humanistic hope: to mark the coronation of Leopold II, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart created a mirror of a prince that traces emotional desires in the field of tension between political constraints. The setting is ancient Rome: Emperor Titus chooses a different wife than generally expected and thus thwarts the plans of the power-hungry Vitellia, daughter of the deceased emperor. She swears deadly revenge and exploits the love of Sesto, Titus' closest confidant, and turns him into an assassin. Titus survives this conspiracy and becomes the judge of his former friend. Can he continue to apply the leniency (Clemenza) that gives the play its title? In this tangle of private inclinations and political duties, are there still "good people" and "benevolent rule"?
Premiere March 28, 2024
Further performances: March 30, April 4, 7 and 12, May 5, 8 and 17, 2024
