from Act II of the Italian opera La Clemenza di Tito by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Libretto: Pietro Metastasio

Role: Annius (Annio), Sextus's friend who is in love with Servilia

Voice Part: soprano       Fach: male soprano|lyric soprano|lyric soprano

Setting: The Imperial garden

Synopsis: Sextus and Annius meet after Sextus set fire to the city and tried to kill the Emporer. Sextus believes he must leave the country, but Annius tries to persuade him that it was a mistake and that Titus will forgive all if Sextus returns and confesses.

from Act II of the Italian opera La Clemenza di Tito by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Libretto: Pietro Metastasio

Role: Annius (Annio), Sextus's friend who is in love with Servilia

Voice Part: soprano       Fach: male soprano|lyric soprano|lyric soprano

Setting: The Imperial garden

Synopsis: Sextus has been sentenced to death for his part in setting the city on fire and attempting to murder the emperor. In this aria, Annius begs Publius and Titus to let Sextus live for Annius and Servilia's sake, even though he does deserve to die.

from Act II of the Italian opera La Clemenza di Tito by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Libretto: Pietro Metastasio

Role: Publius (Publio), prefect of the Pretorian Guard

Voice Part: bass       Fach: lyric bass

Setting: the Imperial garden

Synopsis: Titus cannot believe that Sextus could attempt his murder and set fire to the city. He asks Publius about Sextus's loyalty and Publius responds with this aria, singing that a truly loyal person would not commit such a crime.

from Act II of the Italian opera La Clemenza di Tito by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Libretto: Pietro Metastasio

Role: Servilia, Sesto's sister who is in love with Annius.

Voice Part: soprano       Fach: soubrette

Setting: a road to the Arena

Synopsis: Servilia finds Vitellia crying. Servilia believes that she is weeping because Sextus will die and tells her in this aria that her pity for Sextus is useless for he will still die. Unbeknownst to Servilia though, Vitellia is crying because she is the one who caused his execution.

from Act II of the Italian opera La Clemenza di Tito by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Libretto: Pietro Metastasio

Role: Sextus (Sesto), Titus's friend who is in love with Vitellia

Voice Part: mezzo-soprano       Fach: lyric mezzo

Setting: The Imperial garden

Synopsis: Before signing Sextus's death warrant, the emporer questions him to find some reason that he can pardon him. Sextus will not tell him the name of his accomplice, Vitellia, for the emporer has agreed to marry her. Instead, in this aria, Sextus reminds Titus of how Sextus used to love him and Sextus feels tortured that he betrayed Titus at all.

from Act I of the Italian opera La Clemenza di Tito by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Libretto: Pietro Metastasio

Role: Sextus (Sesto), Titus's friend who is in love with Vitellia

Voice Part: mezzo-soprano       Fach: lyric mezzo

Setting: The Imperial garden

Synopsis: After Servilia orders Sextus to kill Titus and set fire to Rome, Sextus meekly acquiesces and sings that he will do anything for her beauty and love.

from Act I of the Italian opera La Clemenza di Tito by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Libretto: Pietro Metastasio

Role: Titus (Tito), emporer of Rome

Voice Part: tenor       Fach: lyric tenor

Setting: The Imperial Garden

Synopsis: After Servilia throws herself at Titus's feet, begging him to let her marry Annius, Titus relents and declares that if everyone in his court was so honest, being a ruler would be a lot easier.

from Act I of the Italian opera La Clemenza di Tito by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Libretto: Pietro Metastasio

Role: Titus (Tito), emporer of Rome

Voice Part: tenor       Fach: lyric tenor

Setting: The Forum in Rome

Synopsis: Titus has just announced that he will marry Servilia, Sextus's sister, because Rome will like her. He sings that the real joy of being a ruler is being able to reward faithful subjects like Servilia with favors, such as this marriage (which she doesn't want since she is in love with Annius).

from Act II of the Italian opera La Clemenza di Tito by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Libretto: Pietro Metastasio

Role: Titus (Tito), emporer of Rome

Voice Part: tenor       Fach: lyric tenor

Setting: The Imperial garden

Synopsis: After signing Sextus's death warrant and then tearing it up, Titus sings to himself of the heartbreak that this whole incident has caused himself.

from Act I of the Italian opera La Clemenza di Tito by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Libretto: Pietro Metastasio

Role: Vitellia, daughter of the former Emperor Vitellius

Voice Part: soprano       Fach: dramatic coloratura

Setting: Vitellia's rooms

Synopsis: Vitellia is in love with Emporer Titus but is angry that he has chosen someone else to be his wife. She is trying to persuade Sextus, who is infatuated with her, to kill Titus so she can gain the throne. Before this aria, though, she receives word that Titus has called off his marriage. After Sextus tells her he can't decide between killing his best friend Titus or creating a marriage between his love and his best friend, Vitellia tells him to stop complaining, because she will never love him if he continues his whining.

from Act II of the Italian opera La Clemenza di Tito by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Libretto: Pietro Metastasio

Role: Vitellia, daughter of the former Emperor Vitellius

Voice Part: soprano       Fach: dramatic coloratura

Setting: The Imperial garden

Synopsis: Vitellia is in love with Emperor Titus. He loves another, so she induces Sextus, a friend of Emperor Titus who is in love with her, to murder Titus. Sextus does not succeed and is imprisoned, and she realizes that she must tell the emperor that she asked him to commit the crime, since Sextus is prepared to die for her if she does not. She realizes that she must abandon her hopes for the throne and marriage to Titus by telling the truth.