Mozart's overtures were usually the last part of his operas to be written, since they required only a run-through by the orchestra, while the other sections had to be in the hands of performers ahead of time for study and rehearsal. However Mozart's overtures since Idomeneo are extremely important, because they present with economy of means the emotional and intellectual content of the drama. Among Mozart's overtures, the one to La clemenza di Tito uses the greatest number of musical ideas from the body of the opera. A possible reason for this fact is that Mozart had a very limited amount of time to compose it. The overture to Titus reproduces the harmonic scheme of the opera as a whole, and the sequence of tonalities of different numbers of the opera is also reflected in some of the cadential progressions such as IV-V-I. The music of two of the main characters also plays a major role in the overture, preparing us for the heroism of Sextus and the fiery and scheming Vitellia.

Index Classifications: 1700s

Contributed by: Luiz Fernando Lopes