La clemenza di Tito – Bergen

Opera seria by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, presented by Bergen National Opera with Covid restrictions in March 2021.

This was a most unusual project. Production rehearsals came to a dramatic halt on 11 March 2020, when Grieghallen was evacuated mid-session due to the Norwegian Covid lockdown. The creative team returned to London through a near-empty airport, reminiscent of a virus disaster movie.

Director	Rodula Gaitanou
Stage & Lighting Designer	Simon Corder
Costumes & Original Set	Cordelia Chisholm
Conductor	Edward Gardner
Lighting Associate in Bergen	Ivar Skjørestad

“…a defiant account of Mozart’s final opera that’s beautifully cast with six Norwegian nationals and intelligently rethought by London-based Rodula Gaitanou from her aborted original plans of a year ago. The result is a triumph of simplicity and clarity, light on pomp and glitter but forensically presented to reflect our times.

Metastasio’s libretto for La clemenza di Tito was a dog-eared old thing that had famously been set on 40-odd occasions by the time a commission reached Mozart’s desk. The impecunious composer chose to adapt it to suit his own needs, and now Gaitanou has faced the same challenge.”The production has been re-thought and redesigned to be able to accommodate safety protocols. It’s an abstract rendition of the essence of the piece.” Extraordinarily, her mature reimagining, along with that of her creative team, was directed entirely by online links from London, and Gardner confesses he’s never even met the director face to face. The result is sharp, cut to the bone and powered by some remarkable lighting by Simon Corder and (in situ) Ivar Skjørestad. Square acting spaces materialise and vanish on the floor, while the burning of the Capitol is achieved by means of zigzag light gantries and a lot of running.” – Mark Valencia, bachtrack, 16 March 2021