The opera contains one movement, however, altogether worthy of Mozart, and this is the first finale. It is true that even this is far from possessing the greatness of design or the wealth of elaboration of the finales of the earlier operas; it does not pretend to be more than a representation of the situation; but it is earnest and weighty in tone, and possesses features of unsurpassed loveliness. The finale is introduced by a soliloquy for Sextus, in which he pours out the doubt and self-reproach which torture his mind; an unaccompanied recitative expresses this condition with an amount of truth and energy elsewhere entirely wanting to the part of Sextus. When he sees the capitol in flames, and is convinced that his repentance comes too late, he becomes more collected, and the quintet begins with his finely expressed wish to save Titus or to die with him; then he has to evade the questions of Annius, who hurries in full of sympathy—Servilia, Publius, and Vitellia enter in quick succession, full of anxiety and horror; a characteristic orchestral motif gives the clue to the development of the movement, and the separate exclamations of the invisible chorus interposed in rising, dissonant chords, form the pivots on which the progressive harmonies turn; the re-entry of Sextus brings the symmetrically constructed movement to a close. A short recitative, in which Sextus announces the assassination of Titus, leads into the andante, which ends LABOUR AND POVERTY. the finale. All present are united in one feeling of sorrow and horror at the crime which has been committed, and the chorus has approached near enough to join in lamentation with the solo voices; the impression thus produced is dignified and beautiful in the extreme. Here we may perceive to what a height opera seria was capable of rising by a liberal development of its original elements; but unfortunately this movement is the only one of the kind in "Titus." A backward glance of comparison upon "Idomeneo"[ 56 ] results to the advantage of the earlier opera in many and important points. It is true that the conventional forms of the opera seria are there more strictly preserved, but a fresh vigorous effort is at the same time made to give them meaning and substance, and pass their narrow bounds wherever possible,. while in "Titus" the composer has been content to compromise the matter by preserving the semblance of form, but no more. Thus forms intended to be largely treated, such as the division into two movements, are often so lightly and vaguely treated as to lose all dramatic interest, and still more marked is the tendency of the tragic and serious conception of the opera to degenerate into mere pleasing gracefulness. The advantages of the later work in a freer and easier flow of melody, in a more mature and cultivated taste, were more than counterbalanced by the loss of depth and force of musical construction, a loss which is all the more perceptible from the grandeur of the background afforded by a subject taken from the Roman imperial age, which even in Metas-tasio's adaptation was not wholly obscured, and under happier circumstances would have sufficed to inspire Mozart to a nobler creation. The treatment of the orchestra is indicative of the whole tone of the opera, displaying occasionally the full splendour with which Mozart has endowed it, and raising and supporting the musical representation wherever it attains to dramatic significance, but for the most part not going beyond an easy accompaniment of the voices.
In brilliancy and delicacy of orchestral treatment "Titus" can sustain no comparison with "Idomeneo," or even with "Cosi fan Tutte."
Opinions on this opera were widely diverse. According to Niemetschek (p. 111) "Titus" ranks from an aesthetic and artistic point of view as Mozart's most perfect work:—
Mozart mentally grasped the simplicity, the quiet dignity of the character of Titus and of the whole plot, and embodied them in his composition. Every part, even the very moderate instrumental parts, bear this stamp, and combine into perfect unity.
He is of opinion that full maturity of taste is nowhere more finely displayed than in this opera (p. 105), which is also the best example of Mozart's admirable dramatic characterisation (p. 72). An article showing the shortcomings of Metastasio's libretto praises the excellence of the musical characterisation which endows Titus with the character of gentle amiability, Vitellia with force and dignified purity, and the friendship between Sextus and Annius with quite an ideal tenderness.[ 57 ] Schaul, on the contrary (Brief üb. d. Gesch-mack, p. 59), maintains that with the exception of a few pieces the opera is so dry and tiresome that it might rather be taken for the first attempt of budding talent than for the product of a mature mind. He quotes the criticism of an Italian, considered one of the best judges in Naples, that flashes of genius shone out here and there in the more serious airs, which showed what Mozart would have been capable of under happier guidance. "Titus" was criticised in Berlin, in 1796, with the greatest harshness and severity in two articles which excited indignation on account of their disrespectful tone, although the blame bestowed was not without foundation.[ 58 ] With a juster regard to circumstances Rochlitz says:[ 59 ]—
Being only human, he was constrained either to produce an altogether mediocre work, or one of which the principal movements were very good, and the minor ones light and easy, and suited to the taste of the multitude; with right judgment he chose the latter.
It was perhaps this accommodation of the music to the taste of the public, and the concessions made to the popular love of gorgeous scenery and spectacular effects, which gained for "Titus" an enduring place on the German stage, although it was never received with the same favour as "Don Giovanni," "Figaro," and the "Zauberflöte." The opera was produced for the first time in London in 1806 for the benefit of Madame Billington, being the first of Mozart's operas performed in England;[ 60 ] it was given successfully in Paris in 1816,[ 61 ] and in Milan at the Teatro Rè in the following year.[ 62 ]