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Best one yet! 'La Clemenza di Tito' allows the Met to outdo itself

Published:Wednesday | December 5, 2012 | 12:00 AM
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Barbara Frittoli, as the vengeful Vitellia (foreground) and Elina Garanca (background) during a scene from 'La Clemenza di Tito' at the Metropolitan Opera. - Contributed
Michelle (left) and Karen Neita are all smiles as they prepare to go see it. - Gladstone Taylor/Photographer
Kerry-Ann A. Chen gets ready to watch 'La Clemenza di Tito' at the Carib Theatre on Saturday morning.
David and Daphne Muirhead made it their duty to attend the opera.
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Jordane Delahaye, Gleaner Writer

With each installation in its Live in HD series, the Metropolitan Opera seems to outdo itself.

La Clemenza di Tito was leaps and bounds ahead of its predecessors.

The opera seria composed by Mozart, one of the most renowned and prolific composers of the classical era, contains some of the most beautiful arias to have graced the screen at Carib 5 so far.

The libretto, written by Italian poet Caterino Mazzola, is filled with emotion and, when combined with Mozart's compositions, creates a profound and aesthetic experience.

The libretti for the operas shown so far in the Met's Live in HD series pale when compared to Mazzola's masterpiece.

Lines such as, "Oh God, what power you have granted beauty" highlight Mazzola's poetic prowess and adds a certain lyrical finesse to the opera that conveys the right emotions even if the opera had been performed over the radio.

This is not to say that the performers brought nothing to the table, as they were all excellent.

This is the first opera so far in the Live in HD series that we see females play lead 'trouser roles'.

Sopranos Elina Garanca and Kate Lindsey were both magnificent and convincing as Sesto and Annio, and had it not been for their delicate, feminine features they could have easily passed for their male characters.

Lindsey's paramount duet with Lucy Crowe, who played the role of Servilia - Sesto's sister and Annio's lover - was probably the crescendo of the entire opera.

La Clemenza di Tito, or The Clemency of Titus as it is translated in English, is about just that Tito's seemingly boundless capacity for compassion, mercy and forgiveness.

Giuseppe Filianoti is brilliant in the title role and Barbara Frittoli is captivating as the jilted Vitellia, whose lust for power and prestige leads Tito to decide between his friendship with Sesto and his duty as an emperor.

Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball) is set for this Saturday, and on Sunday the encore screenings of La Clemenza di Tito will be shown at Palace Multiplex in Montego Bay and Odeon Cineplex in Mandeville.

Un Ballo in Maschera promises to be a drama-filled delight about the plights of forbidden love and a vengeful heart.