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| The cast of the Drottningholm Palace Theatre performance of Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito. |
Thank God that you can still find non-modernized performances of classic - particularly baroque - operas! One of the best - and certainly the most beautiful - venues for historically informed performances (HIP) is the Drottningholm Palace Theatre in Stockholm.
This intact 18th century opera theatre, which has been described as "the Swedish jewel in our European cultural heritage crown of centuries-old theatres", was after the assassination of King Gustav III in 1792 (Verdi based his Un ballo in maschera on the event) forgotten for almost 130 years, until it was rediscovered in 1921.
The highlight of the Drottningholm Palace Theatre's 2013 summer season was without doubt Mozart's La clemenza di Tito in a HIP production by Sigrid T'Hooft. Last night, those who did not have a chance to attend one of the performances, could watch Swedish SVT2 channel's broadcast of the opera. The star studded cast included Richard Croft (Tito), Katija Dragojevic (Sesto), Annemarie Kremer (Vitellia), Luciana Mancini (Annio), Elena Galitskaya (Servilia) and Markus Schwartz (Publio). The The Drottningholm Theatre Orchestra was eminently conducted by Drottningholm's artistic director Mark Tatlow. The small, but superbly singing chorus consisted of members of the Swedish Radio Choir.
One must hope that this performance of extraordinary musical and visual beauty soon will be available on DVD!
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| Mezzo soprano Luciana Mancini as Annio was one of the brightest stars of the evening. |
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| Tenor Mark Croft was a superb Tito. |
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| A scene with Tito, Publio and Sesto. |
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| Sesto, Publio and Vitellia. |
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| Members of the excellent Drottningholm orchestra. |
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