Giustino
Encyclopedia
Giustino (HWV
37) is an opera
in three acts by George Frideric Handel
. The Italian
-language libretto
was adapted from Pietro Pariati's Giustino, after Nicolo Beregan's Il Giustino.
on 16 February 1737 and on 8 further occasions. It was also performed in Brunswick
in August 1741. The first modern performance was in Abingdon
on 21 April 1963. The first London performance since Handel's time was in November 1983. It was also produced at the Komische Oper, Berlin
by Harry Kupfer
in 1985.
Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis
The Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis is the Catalogue of Handel's Works. It was published in three volumes by Bernd Baselt between 1978 and 1986, and lists every piece of music known to have been written by George Frideric Handel...
37) is an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in three acts by George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
. The Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
-language libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
was adapted from Pietro Pariati's Giustino, after Nicolo Beregan's Il Giustino.
Performance history
The opera was first given at the Covent Garden Theatre in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 16 February 1737 and on 8 further occasions. It was also performed in Brunswick
Braunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
in August 1741. The first modern performance was in Abingdon
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Abingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with...
on 21 April 1963. The first London performance since Handel's time was in November 1983. It was also produced at the Komische Oper, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
by Harry Kupfer
Harry Kupfer
Harry Kupfer is a German opera director. He studied theatre in Leipzig and directed his first opera, Antonín Dvořák's Rusalka, in 1958....
in 1985.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 16 February 1737 (Conductor: - ) |
|---|---|---|
| Giustino | alto Alto Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,... castrato |
Domenico Annibali Domenico Annibali Domenico Annibali was an Italian castrato who had an active international career from 1725-1764. He began his career in his native country and was then committed to the Grosses Königliches Opernhaus in Dresden from 1729 until his retirement from the stage 35 years later... |
| Anastasio | castrato Castrato A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity.Castration before puberty prevents a boy's... |
Gioacchino Conti (Gizziello) |
| Arianna, widow of the emperor | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
Anna Maria Strada Anna Maria Strada Anna Maria Strada was an Italian soprano of the 18th century. She is best remembered for her association with the composer George Frideric Handel, in whose operas Strada sang.-Career:... |
| Leocasta | alto | Francesca Bertolli |
| Amanzio | alto | Maria Caterina Negri |
| Vitaliano | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
John Beard John Beard (tenor) John Beard was an English tenor of the 18th century. He is best remembered for creating an extensive number of roles in the operas and oratorios of George Frideric Handel.... |
| Polidarte | bass | Henry Reinhold Henry Reinhold Henry Reinhold was a singer, reputed to be the son of the archbishop of Dresden.He was born in Dresden and showed an early aptitude for music, which his family apparently discouraged. But he secretly left Dresden to follow Handel, a friend of his reputed father, to London... |
| La Fortuna | boy soprano Boy soprano A boy soprano is a young male singer with an unchanged voice in the soprano range. Although a treble, or choirboy, may also be considered to be a boy soprano, the more colloquial term boy soprano is generally only used for boys who sing, perform, or record as soloists, and who may not necessarily... |
William Savage William Savage William Savage was an English composer, organist, and singer of the 18th century. He sang as a boy treble and alto, a countertenor, and as a bass... |
Selected recordings
- (1994, Göttingen). Michael ChanceMichael ChanceMichael Chance CBE is an English countertenor.Chance was born in Penn, Buckinghamshire, into a musical family. After growing up as a chorister he attended Eton College, Berkshire, and later King's College, Cambridge...
, Dorothea RöschmannDorothea RöschmannDorothea Röschmann is a German opera soprano from Flensburg.-Education and early life:Röschmann studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, under Barbara Schlick at the Akademie für Alte Musik in Bremen, and subsequently in Los Angeles, New York, Tel Aviv, and under Vera Rózsa in London...
, Dawn KotoskiDawn KotoskiDawn Kotoski is an American operatic soprano who has a substantial international opera career. She began her career at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City during the late 1980s singing lighter lyric soprano and soubrette roles. She joined the Vienna State Opera for the 1993–1994 season...
, Jennifer Lane, Mark PadmoreMark PadmoreMark Padmore is a British tenor appearing in concerts, recitals, and opera.Born in London 8 March 1961, and raised in Canterbury, Kent in England. Padmore studied clarinet and piano prior to his gaining a choral scholarship to King's College, Cambridge...
, Drew Minter, Dean Ely, Juliana Gondek, Freiburger Barockorchester cond. Nicholas McGeganNicholas McGeganNicholas McGegan OBE is a British harpsichordist, flautist, conductor and early music expert....
. Harmonia Mundi France HMU 907130.32
E-book
- Score of Giustino (ed. Friedrich ChrysanderFriedrich ChrysanderKarl Franz Friedrich Chrysander was a German music historian and critic, whose edition of the works of George Frideric Handel and authoritative writings on many other composers established him as a pioneer of 19th-century musicology.Born at Lübtheen, in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Chrysander was the son...
, Leipzig 1883)