LA CLEMENZA DI TITO
Where: Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton St., Victoria
When: Oct. 16-22
Tickets: $35-$275 from the Royal McPherson box office (250-386-6121) or rmts.bc.ca
When artistic director Brenna Corner was looking for something to open Pacific Opera Victoria’s 2024-2025 season, her first in an official programming capacity after succeeding founding artistic director Timothy Vernon less than one year ago, Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito was high on her list.
“It’s the first opera I ever directed,” Corner said. “It’s a piece that is near and dear to my heart.”
The Calgary-raised, Winnipeg-schooled Corner helmed a production of La clemenza di Tito in 2014, when she was artistic director of Manitoba Underground Opera. That was a small-scale take on the 1791 original, according to Corner. Pacific Opera’s revamped version, directed by Toronto’s Jennifer Tarver and set against the backdrop of ancient Rome, is an entirely new visual world created by set designer Camellia Koo of Toronto.
“In no way is it set in Rome, but in no way is it not set in Rome, if that make sense,” Corner said with a laugh. “There are little elements that feel slightly Roman, but no one should come to this production anticipating togas. This is a no-toga production.”
Pacific Opera will stage three operas at the Royal Theatre in its coming season, along with a series of classical concerts at the McPherson Playhouse. The main stage productions — which also includes The Little Prince (Feb. 19-25) and Rigoletto (April 23-29) — are considered classics, with long-established reputations.
La clemenza di Tito, though uniformly respected, is deemed somewhat lower-profile when pitted against Mozart’s top-tier output from the era, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Così Fan Tutte, and The Magic Flute.
What makes La clemenza di Tito special, Corner said, is that it zeroes in on the emotional arcs and orbits of its characters, and how they “exist in relationship to other people.” The cast, led by tenor Andrew Haji, mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven, sopranos Julia Dawson, Tracy Cantin, and Reilly Nelson, and bass-baritone Stephen Hegedus, has four performances over the next week with which to convey that messaging.
“At its heart, the story is about vengeance, how you find forgiveness, and if you should find forgiveness,” Corner said. “Layered on top of that is the macro world view of [lead character Tito Vespasian, the Roman emperor], and what we expect from our leaders.”
The political undertones are not heavy-handed. However, the parallels to today’s potboiling political arena are obvious. That played a big role in Corner’s decision to open Pacific Opera’s current season with La clemenza di Tito. Political power struggles are often central plot points in operatic productions, and the upcoming elections in both Canada and the U.S. pushed Corner’s hand in that regard.
“When we were talking about the season, and stories we wanted to bring to the audiences, my question was always: ‘Why? Why this story? Why now?’ ”
The answer was obvious, with regards to the timing of Mozart’s penultimate opera, which premiered three months before his death and just weeks prior to the premiere of The Magic Flute. Clemency is a pivotal theme in the production.
“It was a really important question to pose in our community, especially at time in our world with conversations about our leaders and political views. And at the heart of it, we’re all human and we’re all striving to be better. That was one of the big things about ‘Why this piece, why now?’ ”
