Salzburg Festival

What you need to know: Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito

The opera quick check by Larissa Schütz

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Markus Tschepp)

Whether you're on the trolleybus on the way to the performance, having a cigarette in front of the Salzburg Festival Theatre or queuing in the toilet - with the opera quick check, you'll be perfectly prepared for the premiere in just two minutes. This time, the "Krone" has the most important information about Mozart's "La Clemenza di Tito".

What is it about? In his last opera, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart set to music what Netflix published exactly 222 years later as the political thriller series "House of Cards": the story of a power-hungry woman and her path to the head of state. However, her name here is not Claire Underwood, but Vitellia, and her plan can only succeed because Tito is more of a softie than a ruler and simply can't be angry with anyone.

Plot: Vitellia wants to avenge her father, the overthrown emperor, and become head of state herself. But Tito is currently standing there. Her insidious plan is to marry him first and then kill him. However, Tito would rather marry the sister of Vitellia's admirer Sesto. So she decides to get Tito out of the way without a marriage license. Sesto, who is so blinded by love that he forgets his friendship with the emperor and starts a storm on the Capitol, is supposed to do it for her. Tito dies in the process - but not. When he finds out, Sesto comes clean. Tito wants to pardon his friend, but he does not want to turn Vitellia in and accepts his death sentence. At the last second, Vitellia confesses everything to Tito and he shows him mercy, which is why the opera translates as "The Clemency of Titus".

Abragging point for the interval: Mozart only had 18 days to compose the opera, as he received the commission for the coronation opera for Emperor Leopold II at very short notice. Mozart's supposed murderer, the composer Antonio Salieri, would have been his first choice.