Opera Scotland

Clemenza di Tito 1970Ledlanet Nights

Read more about the opera Clemenza di Tito

This was only the second time when the work was performed in Scotland. The first had been before the war, when the Barony Musical Association in Glasgow was promoted by the great Erik Chisholm - see our note here.

Back in 1970, Clemenza was still very much neglected.  Regarded very much as the “Cinderella” of Mozart’s mature operas, it had not been performed by the London companies or even at Glyndebourne. Given the quality of this excellent rendering it was difficult to understand where the problem lay.

Most of these artists were regular performers at Glyndebourne or Sadler’s Wells. Terry Jenkins spent most of his career at the Coliseum, in a wide range of operetta and character parts. Janice Chapman's Vitellia and Lorna Brindley's Sextus were beautifully sung and created intensely dramatic characterisations in the tiny space available on stage.

The translation used was the one created in 1930 by the Radford sisters for their performances in Falmouth.