#silentstep who even is the audience for this post

[silentstep]

La Clemenza di Tito by Mozart on a libretto by Metastasio revised by Mazzolà

Dramatis Personae:

TITO, Emperor of Rome, in love with the Judean queen BERENICE

SESTO, friend of TITO, in love with VITELLIA

ANNIO, friend of SESTO, in love with SERVILIA

SERVILIA, sister of SESTO, in love with ANNIO

VITELLIA, daughter of the deposed emperor VITELLIUS, in love with TITO willing to settle for a political marriage to TITO if that’s what it’ll take to get her rightful throne back, in love with SESTO very definitely a cold-hearted seductress ruthlessly tricking SESTO into believing she has feelings for him, or, like, at all

PUBLIO, head of the Praetorian Guard, advisor to TITO

ACT I

“Ma chè? sempre l’istesso” – In light of Tito’s ongoing romance with Berenice and attendant failure to marry Vitellia and make her empress by marriage, she and Sesto discuss their plan to assassinate Tito and reinstate Vitellia to the throne in her right as her father’s heir, with Sesto as her own consort.  Sesto urges Vitellia to reconsider the whole thing.  Vitellia urges Sesto to stop stalling and implement it already.  They argue; Vitellia starts to leave.

“Come ti piace imponi” - Sesto calls her back, assuring her that he will obey her.  Vitellia again commands Tito’s overthrow and death.  Sesto asks for a kind glance first, in reward.  They duet about both being full of conflicting emotions and tormented souls.

“Amico, il passo affretta” - Annio enters and tells them that Tito is sending Berenice away.  Assuming that this is the first step in Tito asking her to marry him and become empress, Vitellia belays Sesto’s orders.  Sesto protests that he doesn’t want her to marry another man and leave him.

“Deh, se piacer mi vuoi” – Vitellia had NO SUCH THOUGHTS IN HER HEAD, how could you possibly think this of her, Sesto.

“Amico, ecco il momento” – Annio reminds Sesto of his promise to give his sister Servilia’s hand to Annio in marriage, and asks Sesto to obtain Tito’s permission for Annio to marry Servilia.  Sesto readily agrees.

“Deh prendi un dolce amplesso” – ANNIO AND SESTO ARE FRIENDS AND THEY LOVE EACH OTHER VERY MUCH.

“Serbate, oh Dei custodi” – “Huzzah for Rome!  Long live Titus Flavius Caesar Vespasianus Augustus!”

“Basta, basta” – Isn’t Tito such a good emperor everyone loves him he’s so humble and selfless omg

“Adesso, oh Sesto, parla per me” – Sesto actually is concerned for Tito’s happiness, poor lamb.  Tito, having been prevented from marrying for love due to public opinion being against the foreign barbarian Jewish queen, decides to marry for friendship and make Sesto emperor-consort of Rome by marrying Servilia.  Sesto is about to turn him down for Annio’s sake when Annio jumps in and accepts on his behalf.

“Del più sublime soglio” – In a prime example of the dramatic irony that’s going to plague Tito this entire opera, he sings an aria about how his only comfort in life is to make his friends happy.  His friends hastily attempt to conceal the profound misery his actions have plunged them into.

“Non ci pentiam” – Annio, entrusted with carrying the news to Servilia because Metastasio likes watching him suffer, tells himself again that he’s standing aside for Servilia’s sake and that to do otherwise would be selfish.  Servilia responds to the news with confusion and dismay.

“Ah perdona il primo affetto” – Annio and Servilia tell each other they love each other and I fuckin cry from the sheer beauty

“Che mi rechi in quel foglio?” – “Enlarge the man committed yesterday that rail'd against our person: we consider it was excess of wine that set him on, and on his more advice we pardon him.”

“Di Tito al piè” – Servilia, establishing her character as the only one who enacts positive outcomes in this whole opera, confesses to Tito that she loves Annio.  She explains that she will obey if Tito still wants her for a wife, but it will be no more than a political match, and her heart will remain with her lover.  Tito immediately withdraws his proposal, consents that Annio should marry Servilia, and thanks her for her honesty.

“Ah, se fosse intorno al trono” – Tito thanks Servilia for her honesty at some length, actually, and complains to everyone listening for a second time that being Emperor of Rome is the worst job and it’s miserable and it sucks and (here’s that dramatic irony again) everyone keeps lying to him and he can’t even tell.

“Felice me!” – Servilia, left alone, exclaims aloud with joy and relief.  Vitellia, overhearing this and already aware that Tito has proposed to Servilia (just how good is this woman’s spy network???) pops up out of nowhere like a goddamn ninja and offers passive-aggressively obsequious homage to her new empress whose beauty has ensnared Tito’s heart.  Servilia offers an unfortunately cryptic reply that perhaps the imperial hand is, in fact, reserved for Vitellia, and leaves.

“Ancora mi schernisce?” - Vitellia seethes.  She might have forgiven having been made to wait for the throne due to Tito’s folly for Berenice, but to be passed over entirely is beyond the pale.  When Sesto enters, she orders him to set the assassination plan in motion immediately.  Yesterday, preferably.

“Parto, parto” – He’s going he’s going but can he just like… get maybe a glance first?  Something?  Anything.  Give him something, here.  Something to take with him into the coming battle.  Just one look.  Please.  Gods, she’s so pretty.

“Vedrai, Tito, vedrai” – Sesto having left, Vitellia is crowing over her imminent victory when Publio and Annio enter, bringing Tito’s proposal of marriage to her.  They salute her as their empress and try to bring her to Tito.

“Vengo… aspettate… Sesto!” – Vitellia PANICS.  Sesto’s gone and it’s too late to intercept him.  She freezes up and screams internally and possibly externally while Annio and Publio exchange glances and go “wow, she’s so happy about this that she forgot to look happy!  Funny how that happens sometimes!”

“Oh Dei, che smania e questa” – meanwhile, Sesto is likewise angstpanicking as he tries and tries to make himself go through with the assassination.  He has just come to the conclusion that actually, no, he can’t do this, but when he decides to halt the proceedings, he sees that they’re far advanced enough that the Capitol is on fire.

“Deh, conservate, oh Dei” – concluding that it’s too late to stop it now and he’s already committed, Sesto runs off to kill Tito, leaving a just-entered Annio in confusion.  Servilia enters to Annio, bringing news of the fire and the mass panic; Publio enters, bringing news that the fire is the result of a conspiracy against Tito.  Vitellia enters, pleading with anyone for news of Sesto.  Sesto re-enters, bringing the news that Tito has been murdered by a man who’s just the most evil monster imaginable.  Vitellia stops him from confessing then and there, and amid the cries of horror from the rest of Rome, everyone sings of their sorrow at Tito’s death and the nefarious treason that led to it.

ACT II

“Sesto, come tu credi” – Annio enters to Sesto, bringing him the news that Tito is alive after all, and that whatever Sesto saw, he must have been mistaken.  Sesto confesses that he was the one who set the tumult in motion and stabbed the man he thought was Tito.  Annio is horrified, but Sesto refuses to explain and declares his intention to go into exile and wander the wilderness lamenting.  Annio stops him from leaving.

“Torna di Tito a lato” – Annio advises Sesto return to Tito’s side and say nothing of this, proving his loyalty and making up for his mistakes with whatever acts of devotion the opportunity affords.

“Partir deggio, o restar?” – “I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO MY WHOLE BRAIN IS CRYING”, Sesto muses as Annio leaves.  Vitellia enters and urges Sesto to flee Rome, protecting his life and the secret of her involvement.  Sesto assures her that he would die before betraying her, but Vitellia answers that Sesto clearly loves Tito too much to stay silent in the face of Tito’s mercy and understanding.

“Sesto! - Che chiedi?” – Publio enters and arrests Sesto for conspiracy to commit treason.  Turns out the man Sesto stabbed was actually Sesto’s fellow conspirator Lentulo, and that Lentulo survived the stabbing and, upon his own arrest, revealed Sesto.  OK PAUSE I just need to reiterate for everyone that that is some ludicrously egregious failure here on Sesto’s part.  Not only would Tito have survived if it had been Tito, but it was actually Tito’s enemy.  There is no way this wasn’t Sesto’s subconscious doing this on purpose.  There is no way.  You can’t fuck up that badly on accident.

“Se al volto mai ti senti” – Sesto tries to bid Vitellia a tender and despairing farewell.  Vitellia freezes up again in guilt and panic.  Publio keeps trying to drag Sesto off, but each time she rails at Publio with such anguish that he is moved and lets them have a few more moments together.  Sesto swears that he loves Vitellia and ever will, asks to be remembered, and finally begs to at least have her pity, to comfort him in his sorrow.  Vitellia, almost breaking down in grief and horror, is still bluescreening.  Sesto is finally led away to face the Senate.

“Ah grazie si rendano” – The people of Rome give thanks to the gods that Tito lives and the glory of the throne has been preserved.  Tito is comforted that they at least don’t want him dead.

“Andremo, Publio” – Publio tries to get Tito to go be visible in public to calm the anxious people, but Tito refuses to go anywhere until he has confirmation that the Senate is convinced of Sesto’s innocence.  “What if he’s… uh.  Not innocent?” Publio asks.  Tito bites his head off.

“Tardi s’avvede” – Publio warns Tito not to assume all men have hearts as loyal as Tito’s own.

“No, cosi scellerato” – Tito refuses to consider that Sesto could have betrayed him.  Annio enters, followed by the news of Sesto’s guilt and his condemnation by the Senate to death by lions, which Tito must now sign.

“Tu fosti tradito” – Annio begs Tito for Sesto’s life.

“Che orror! che tradimento!” – Left alone, Tito alternately rages and hesitates over whether to sign the death warrant.  He resolves to at least hear out Sesto in private before deciding, and summons him for an audience.

“Quello di Tito e il volto?” – Tito and Sesto see each other and both freeze.  Tito recovers first, and commands Sesto to approach; Sesto stays frozen for a while longer and then struggles to obey.  Publio, having observed their pain at this encounter, is sent out of the room, leaving them alone.

“E pur mi fa pietà” – Tito confronts Sesto.  Sesto begs for death.  Tito begs Sesto to tell him his reasons, to give Tito some excuse— any excuse— to pardon him.  Sesto refuses and continues to beg for death.  Tito finally furiously agrees.

“Deh per questo istante solo” – Sesto begs for one last kind look from Tito before he dies, just one, for the sake of their former love.  He declares that though he goes despairing to his death, the thought of death does not frighten him; it is the thought that he betrayed Tito that is torture.  He cries out in wonder that his heart can be in so much pain and yet not die.  IT HELLA.

“Ove s’intese mai più contumace infedeltà?” – Tito, alone again, fiercely debates with himself over whether to let Sesto live or die.  He signs the warrant— but finally tears it up, resolving to pardon Sesto despite his treason.  Publio returns, and Tito, pretending that he still intends to execute Sesto, orders the preparations to go forward.

“Se all’impero” – Tito announces to the gods that if a hard heart is necessary to rule, they must either take away his empire or give him a different heart.

“Ah, Vitellia! - Ah, principessa!” – Annio and Servilia enter to Vitellia and beg for her help: if she, Tito’s new empress, asks Tito to pardon Sesto, he may grant it.  Vitellia, certain that she’s about to be arrested any minute, grimly answers that she’s not Empress yet.  Annio assures her that Tito has given instructions for the wedding— after having talked to Sesto.  Stunned that Sesto did not reveal her, Vitellia starts to go but then stops and asks that the other two go on ahead, promising to follow.  Annio and Servilia continue to plead with her to come immediately.  Vitellia, now openly weeping, again begs them to leave and not torment her.

“S’altro che lacrime” – Servilia calls Vitellia’s tears useless cruelty, as only action can possibly help Sesto.  She and Annio give up and leave.

“Ecco il punto, o Vitellia” – Vitellia, left alone, takes stock.  She can have everything she has wanted this entire time— marriage to Tito and the throne of Empress— and the only thing she has to do to get it is watch Sesto die.  Folding like a house of cards at the very thought, she resolves to confess everything to Tito in the the hopes that, while she will certainly be condemned to death, Sesto’s guilt may be lessened enough for his sentence to be commuted.

“Non più di fiori” – Vitellia takes a moment to mourn the death of her hopes and dreams and also of her life.  Knowing that she is soon to be despised by the world, she asks the audience, at least, seeing her pain and knowing the whole story, to take pity on her grief.

“Che del ciel, che degli Dei” – Gathered to watch the executions, the people of Rome once more praise Tito and thank the gods for saving him.

“Sesto, de’ tuoi delitti” – Tito, facing down Sesto, starts off the speech that’s going to end with the surprise pardon, but doesn’t get that far before he’s interrupted by Vitellia, confessing everything and taking all the blame for herself.

“Ma che giorno e mai questo?” – Tito’s turn to bluescreen momentarily, as it must certainly feel that people he trusts are just coming out of the woodwork to betray him, but he gets ahold of himself and pardons everyone involved.

“Tu, è ver, m’assolvi” – Sesto and Tito reconcile.  Vitellia, Annio, and Servilia sing Tito’s praises.  Tito asks the gods to kill him the day his thoughts are no longer turned to the good of Rome, and everyone joins the chorus for one final “Huzzah for Rome!  Long live Titus Flavius Caesar Vespasianus Augustus!”

FINE