Meet The Cast Of La Clemenza di Tito

This February, Vancouverites will have the rare chance to hear one of Mozart’s greatest musical achievements, sung by a stellar all-Canadian cast in a beautiful production featuring a sumptuous set and period costumes. Composed in mere weeks near the end of Mozart’s life, and featuring some of the most glorious music ever written for the female voice, this complex and elegant opera asks whether it is better to rule through power or compassion.



New Brunswick soprano Wendy Nielsen sings Vitellia, the jilted and vengeful admirer of Emperor Titus. Ms. Nielsen has sung with the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic and opera companies and symphonies in Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Budapest, Krakow, as well as in several Canadian cities. She is known as “one of Canada’s finest dramatic sopranos” (The Calgary Herald) with a voice that is “powerful beyond belief, her dramatic cries of pain [reaching] right into the audience’s hearts”. This will be Ms. Nielsen’s VO debut.



Toronto-based Hungarian-Canadian mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó sings the male role of Sesto - Titus’s confidant and Vitellia’s lover. Ms. Szabó has appeared in CBC’s Opening Night in concert with the Canadian Opera Company and performs frequently throughout Europe, the Unites States and Canada. She has appeared with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Chicago Opera Theatre, L'Opéra National du Rhin and the San Antonio Symphony. “Mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó sang with passion, beauty and power. In an unusual move, even the orchestra joined in the huge ovation” raved Opera News of her 2010 Idamante (Idomeneo).







Singing the role of Titus is Juno Award-winning Canadian tenor John Tessier. Mr. Tessier has been praised for his “elegant legato and easy reach to the money notes” (Globe and Mail). His repetoire includes a wide range of operatic roles and concert pieces, and he has sung at the English National Opera, the Royal Opera House, and The Metropolitan Opera as well as with several Canadian opera companies.




Mr. Tessier was last seen on the VO stage in 2000 in the highly-acclaimed The Italian Girl in Algiers, and “just seems to get better and better,” declares the Globe and Mail. “His light lyric tenor is crystal clear, and he goes for his high notes aggressively, taking them full throttle and managing to inject manly drama.”




Canadian mezzo-soprano Norine Burgess, last seen as Maddalena in VO’s 2009 Rigoletto, sings Annio, Sesto’s friend and the lover of Sesto’s sister, Servilia. She has been praised for her bright, elegant and lambent-toned voice and has performed in opera houses and with leading orchestras throughout North America and around the world.

Canadian bass-baritone Thomas Goerz sings the prefect Publio. He has been acclaimed for his “flexible voice which easily navigate[s] the runs and rumblings… Goerz’s authority is a pleasure to experience and his ability to sound out over brass and tympani was thrilling.” (Kitchener-Waterloo Record). Mr. Goerz was last seen on the VO stage creating the roles of Constable Wyman, Sergei and the mysterious Jozéf in the world premiere of Lillian Alling.

Kathleen Brett sings Servilia, having delighted audiences with her performance at VO’s Golden Anniversary Concert & Gala and remembered for her most recent VO stage role of Blanche in 2005’s Dialogues of the Carmelites. Ms. Brett is cherished by audiences in North America and Europe not only for the beauty of her tone and stylistic instinct but also for her natural stage presence and dramatic skill. “Like honey, Brett's voice is natural, sweet and never goes bad. It's a welcome addition to any musical cup of tea, be it a Verdi aria or a symphonic suite from The Lord of the Rings.” (Edmonton Journal).



The stage director is the internationally acclaimed Chas Rader-Shieber. “Rader-Shieber is a talent to watch, given his brilliant, economical illumination of Metastasio’s text, which focused on character revelation like a psychological thriller. In fact, the opera flowed like the dialogue of a play,” raved the Globe and Mail of his direction of Santa Fe Opera’s 2002 La Clemenza di Tito.

VO Music Director Jonathan Darlington conducts the Vancouver Opera Orchestra and Vancouver Opera Chorus (Leslie Dala, Associate Conductor and Chorus Director). Maestro Darlington will also provide the continuo on forte-piano from the orchestra pit, along with VO Orchestra Principal Cellist Ariel Gladstone.

Get your tickets now!

Single tickets starting at $29 (plus handling fee). Call our ticketing centre at 604.683.0222 or purchase online here.