ABSTRACT
This chapter turns to Sesto—Tito’s closest friend, whose affection for the emperor conflicts with his erotic infatuation with Vitellia. It argues that Sesto could have emerged first as a parable for human concupiscence and sin and later as a model of Christian repentance. In Act One, Sesto appears as a parable for human sin. He is torn between his recognition of the good in Tito and his inability to escape his erotic infatuation with Vitellia. Sesto cannot order his priorities rightly. His obsession with Vitellia wins out over his love for Tito, and so he rebels against God’s representative on earth. Sesto seems to impersonate what the apostle Paul describes as human beings at war with themselves. In Act Two, the opera turns into a story of conversion from sin to salvation. Sesto appears as a repentant sinner who is contrite, confesses, and offers satisfaction. He liberates himself of his concupiscence and emotional dependency. His conversion would have offered a model of repentance, not least through the persistent use of religious terminology, the focus on the redemptive consequences of suffering, and the evocation of various biblical passages.
