La clemenza di Tito – Opera

Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito tells a story of mercy triumphing over power, betrayal, and revenge. This production approaches the opera through the people surrounding Tito, revealing the emperor from the perspectives of those who observe, challenge, and respond to him. The scenic design translates this narrative approach into space by shaping the audience's experience of looking.
Designed for a proscenium theatre, it introduces a movable false proscenium with an adjustable iris that continuously reshapes the stage opening. Together with two movable curved walls punctuated by rectangular openings, this framing system shifts between different degrees of public and private space, guiding the audience's attention while redefining the perceived scale and intimacy of each scene. Minimal architectural forms direct attention toward the evolving relationships between the characters, while the openings create visual depth and allow light to become an integral part of the spatial composition.
The curved, stone-textured off-white walls reverse to reveal burnt surfaces following the opera's fire scene, while the performers remain within a consistent costume palette. As the architecture transforms, the changing relationship between performers and space makes shifts in conflict, forgiveness, and mercy visually perceptible. Together, these spatial strategies make the audience's perspective an active part of the storytelling.