ABSTRACT
Surely, one would love to know what Mozart believed, what he confessed in his heart towards the end of his life, and which—if any—theological beliefs he might have wanted or intended to express through his operas. Regardless of Mozart’s own theological intentions when writing La clemenza di Tito, his audiences hear his opera through the perspective of their own faith. In their revision of the libretto, the author argued further, Mozart and Mazzola renewed the genre of opera seria according to a different aesthetic. In the process, they also altered the opera’s political message. In line with the late Enlightenment’s understanding of humanite and the contrat social, they eliminated Tito’s ability to administer the law to its full extent and, in so doing, turned Tito’s final show of clemency into a predictable act. Law and constitution, rather than the monarch’s free will, guarantee peace and justice.
