Overture: La Clemenza di Tito

A programme of late Mozart ending with the “Jupiter” Symphony in C major could have no more appropriate beginning than the Overture to La Clemenza di Tito. Also in C major, it was conceived as in introduction to another monument of classical virtue, an opera seria based on a Metastasio libretto and designed to celebrate Emperor Leopold II’s coronation as King of Bohemia in Prague in 1791. It is a model of economy, complete in itself but modestly proportioned and not so abundant in melodic material as to compete with the opera itself. Beginning with a full-orchestral fanfare in C major and an eager little tune on violins, it incorporates a more lyrical second subject for woodwind, a development that takes the main theme through a variety of harmonic adventures, and a recapitulation that recalls the woodwind melody first so as to reserve the fanfare for the ceremonial ending.

The most popular of Mozart’s overtures were written for his comedies - The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, The Magic Flute. His last opera, La Clemenza di Tito, which was designed to celebrate Emperor Leopold II’s coronation as King of Bohemia in Prague in 1791, required something different. Based on a fifty-year old libretto by Metastasio, the revered master of opera seria, it is a monument to classical virtue, both musical and moral. The overture, which is correspondingly elevated in style, is a model of economy, complete in itself but modestly proportioned and not so abundant in melodic material as to compete with the opera itself. Beginning with a full-orchestral fanfare in C major and an eager little tune on violins, it incorporates a more lyrical second subject for woodwind, a development that takes the main theme through a variety of harmonic adventures, and a recapitulation that recalls the woodwind melody first so as to reserve the fanfare for the ceremonial ending.