Giustino (Handel)

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Work data
Title: Giustino
Title page of the 1737 edition of the score

Title page of the 1737 edition of the score

Shape: Opera seria
Original language: Italian
Music: georg Friedrich Handel
Libretto : unknown
Literary source: Nicolò Beregan , Giustino (1683) and Pietro Pariati (1711)
Premiere: February 16, 1737
Place of premiere: Theater Royal, Covent Garden , London
Playing time: 3 hours
Place and time of the action: Constantinople and the surrounding area, early 6th century
people

Giustino oder Justin ( HWV 37) is an opera ( Dramma per musica ) in three acts by Georg Friedrich Händel and, alongside Arminio and Berenice, one of the three operas that Handel composed for the 1736/37 season within six months.

Emergence

The Daily Post reported shortly after Handel had ended the season with the eighth performance of Atalanta a few days earlier:

“We hear that several Persons have been sent to Italy from the two Theaters, to engage some additional Voices, for the carrying on of Operas for the ensuing Season, and that Sig. Dominichino, one of the best Singers now in Italy, is engaged by Mr. Handel, and is expected over in a short time. "

According to reports, the two opera houses have sent various people to Italy in order to look for a few more voices for the next season, and Signor Dominichino, one of the best Italian singers today, is said to have been hired by Mr. Handel and is expected here shortly . "

- The London Daily Post , London, June 18, 1736

The named singer then came to England from Dresden in October and, as was customary, was first heard at court before his first appearance:

“On Tuesday last Signor Dominico Annibali, the celebrated Italian Singer lately arriv'd from Dresden, to perform in Mr. Handel's Opera in Coven-Garden, was sent for to Kensington, and had the Honor to sing several Songs before her Majesty and the Princesses, who express'd the highest Satisfaction at his Performance. "

"Last Tuesday [5. October] the celebrated Italian singer Domenico Annibali , recently arrived here from Dresden to appear in Handel's Coventgarden Opera, was sent to Kensington, where he had the honor of performing various chants for the Queen and Princesses, who were most pleased with this performance . "

- The Old Whig , London, October 14, 1736

Another newspaper report, according to which the three ladies engaged by the opposing " Opera of the Nobility ", found the same approving reception at court:

“Signora Merighi, Signora Chimenti, and The Francesina (Three Singer lately come from Italy, for the Royal Academy of Musick) had the honor to sing before her Majesty, the Duke, and Princesses, at Kensington, on Monday Night last, and met with a most gracious Reception, and her Majesty was pleased to approve their several Performances: after which, The Francesina, performed several Dances to the entire Satisfaction of the Court. "

"Signora Merighi [Antonia Margherita Merighi], Signora Chimenti [Margherita Chimenti, called" La Droghierina "] and the Francesina [Elisabeth Duparc, called" La Francesina "], three singers who had recently come for the Royal Music Academy of Italy last Monday evening the honor of singing to the Queen, Duke and Princesses at Kensington, and met with a most gracious reception; Her Majesty deigned to applaud her lectures, and in the end Francesina made the court a great pleasure with her dances. "

- The London Daily Post , London, November 18, 1736

Maria Strada had spent the summer with Princess Anna , who had meanwhile been married to Holland . She returned on October 4th:

"Last Night the famous Signora Strada arriv'd from Holland, who is come on purpose to sing next Thursday in a Concert of Musick at the Swan Tavern in Exchange-Alley."

"Yesterday evening the famous Signora Strada from Holland arrived, initially for the purpose of singing on the following Thursday in the Gasthaus Zum Schwan on Börsenallee."

- The London Daily Post , London, October 5, 1736

Handel began composing Giustino on August 14, 1736 and finished the draft on September 7. But before “filling in” the score, which for him meant adding the middle parts to the sketched “edge” parts (ie treble and bass), he put them down and turned to a new work: Arminio . When he had finished his score, he picked up the Giustino again and finished it on October 20th. His notes in the autograph read: “Agost 14 | 1736 " (at the beginning) - " Fine del Atto 1 August 29th 1736. " - " Fine dell Atto 2nd Sept 3rd 1736. " - " Fine dell 'Opera GF Handel. London September 7, 1736; u. from 15. Oct. bit the | 20, 1736. filled out. "

Handel approached the new season with the same strategy that he had already used two years earlier: resumption before Christmas and new works in the new year. But as Benjamin Victor mentioned in a letter to the violinist Matthew Dubourg in Dublin , the signs were bad for him:

“The two opera houses are, neither of them, in a successful way; and it is the confirmed opinion that this winter will compleat your friend Handel's destruction, as far as the loss of his money can destroy him. "

"Neither of the two opera houses is on a successful path and there is a general belief that this winter will bring your friend Handel's ultimate downfall, if financial losses mean his downfall for him."

- Benjamin Victor : Letter to Matthew Dubourg , London, May 1736

At the Covent Garden Theater it was hoped that the festive mood after the wedding of the heir to the throne Friedrich Ludwig of Hanover and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg would not only be maintained by the resumption of Atalanta ordered by the prince , but also by appropriate decorations of other operas. For example, it is reported about Alcina , with which Handel opened the season on November 6th:

“The Box in which their Royal Highnesses sat, was of white Satin, beautifully Ornamented with Festons of Flowers in their proper Colors, and in Front was a flaming Heart, between two Hymeneal Torches, whose different Flames terminated in one Point, and were surmounted with a label, on which were wrote, in Letters of Gold, these Words, MUTUUS ARDOR. "

“The box in which the majesties sat was lined with white silk, beautifully adorned with garlands of flowers in their natural colors, and in front was a flaming heart between two wedding torches, the flames of which met at one end. They were surrounded by an inscription in gold letters; this read: MUTUUS ARDOR. [Shared passion.] "

- The London Daily Post , London, November 8, 1736

To give us an insight into the position of the competition, who opened their season two weeks after Handel, and into Handel's plans for the future, we are sticking to a letter that Mrs. Pendarves , Handel's neighbor on Brook Street and his lifelong admirer, wrote on November 27th wrote to her sister:

“Bunny came from the Haymarket Opera, and supped with me comfortably. They have Farinelli, Merighi, with no sound in her voice, but thundering action - a beauty with no other merit; and one Chimenti, a tolerable good woman with a pretty voice and Montagnana, who roars as usuall With this band of singers and dull Italian operas, such as you almost fall asleep at, they presume to rival Handel - who has Strada, that sings better than ever she did; Gizziello, who is much improved since last year; and Annibali who has the best part of Senesino's voice and Caristini's, with a prodigious fine taste and good actionl […] Mr. Handel has two new operas ready - Erminius and Justino. He was here two or three mornings ago and played to me both the overtures, which are charming. "

“Bunny [Bernard Granville: her brother] came out of the Haymarket Opera House and dined with me. You have Farinelli , Merighi, who has no voice at all and is a rumbling actress - a beauty with no other merit; and a certain Chimenti, a woman of decent ability and with a pretty voice; and Montagnana roaring like always. With this group of singers and their boring Italian operas, they want to compete with Handel, who has the Strada, which sings better than ever, and Gizziello , who has improved a lot since last year; and Annibali, whose voice comes close to the Senesinos; and Caristini with his amazingly good taste and acting skills! [...] Handel has prepared two new operas - Arminio and Giustino. He was here two or three days ago and played both overtures for me; they are magical. "

- Mary Pendarves : Letter to Ann Granville, London, November 27, 1736

On November 20, the wedding Opera was Atalanta resumed and at the end of the performance there was in honor of the present Royal Highnesses "several fine devices in fire-works" ( "some nice fireworks") . The Crown Prince couple also gave their participation to Poro , who followed on December 8th .

Handel began composing Berenice in mid-December . After he brought out Arminio in January , the world premiere of Giustino followed on February 16, 1737 at the Covent Garden Theater .

Cast of the premiere

libretto

The material for the opera text is based on a poem by Nicolò Beregan . This tells free of historical personalities of the Byzantine Empire: Emperor Anastasios I and his successor Justin I. Giovanni Llimani set Beregan's libretto for the first performance of his Giustino in Venice in 1683. Giustino then became one of the most popular operatic subjects of his time and gave the impetus for numerous other compositions and arrangements. By 1697, the opera L Limitis was performed in eight other locations in Italy. Further arrangements or new compositions were made by Alessandro Scarlatti (Naples, 1684), Luigi Mancia (Rome, 1695), Johann Christian Schieferdecker (Leipzig, 1700 and Hamburg, 1706) and Domenico Scarlatti (Naples, 1703). In 1711 a version in five acts edited by Pietro Pariati with music by Tomaso Albinoni was published in Bologna . Antonio Vivaldi had the text rewritten in three acts for his own setting for Giustino in Rome in 1724. The libretto used by Handel was created by an unknown editor (or by himself?) On the basis of this Vivaldic text. In this version, Handel did without the servant Brillo, and, what is more dramatic, Andronico; He devoted devoted attention to the monsters, ghosts and gods, despite the common operatic aesthetics that had banished the supernatural from the libretti. In consideration of the London public's taste, Handel also cut the 1,175 lines of recitative to 350: too many not to let the dramatic context get lost and to recognize motivation for action.

It is difficult to classify Handel's opera Giustino correctly within the dramatic genre. One could see a genre in this work, which Polonius describes in Hamlet as "tragic-comic-historical-pastoral". Despite the plot reminiscent of a comic book adventure, this opera offers entertainment in the best sense of the word. The libretto stimulated Handel on subjects that he would deal with in more detail in some later, more conventionally tailored musical dramas. Giustino, on the other hand, has an infectious liveliness.

How Giustino was received by the contemporary audience is not known, only the Earl of Shaftesbury noted in 1760 that Handel was unsuccessful in this season. The opera was withdrawn from the repertoire after just nine performances after June 8, 1737. But Handel had not directed all the performances: in mid-April, in the middle of the performance series, he suffered a catastrophic collapse as a result of his physical and mental tension: a stroke ! During these days he wanted to lead the pasticcio Didone abbandonata, which he had compiled and edited after Pietro Metastasio 's debut work of the same name with music by Leonardo Vinci , Johann Adolf Hasse , Geminiano Giacomelli and Antonio Vivaldi , but the paralysis of his right arm and the mental defilements had to lead possibly Handel's second harpsichordist Johann Christoph Schmidt jun. take over the evening management. At that point it was completely unclear whether this stroke of fate would end his work as a composer and conductor forever. In any case, his friends and followers were by no means sure, as the scholar James Harris wrote to his cousin, the Earl of Shaftesbury:

"Y r Lord p’s information concerning M r Handel's Disorder was y e first I received - I can assure Y r Lord p it gave me no Small Concern - when y e Fate of Harmony depends upon a Single Life, the Lovers of Harmony may be well allowed to be Sollicitous. I heartily regrett y e thought of losing any of y e executive part of his meritt, but this I can gladly compound for, when we are assured of the Inventive, for tis this which properly constitutes y e Artist, & Separates Him from y e Multitude. It is certainly an Evidence of great Strength of Constitution to be so Soon getting rid of So great a Shock. A weaker Body would perhaps have hardly born y e Violence of Medicines, w ch operate So quickly. "

“Your lordship's news of Handel's illness was the first to reach me - I can assure you that I am very concerned about it. If the fate of harmony depends on a single life, one must forgive the friends of harmony for the excitement. I feel it is the deepest loss when we lose him as a performing musician, but I can easily come to terms with it as long as his ingenuity remains with us, because it is what defines the artist and sets him apart from the crowd. It is certainly a sign of great strength and endurance that he overcame such a severe blow so quickly. A weaker body would hardly have been able to cope with the powerful drugs that work so quickly. "

- James Harris : Letter to the Earl of Shaftesbury, London, May 5, 1737

Apparently he still had significant reserves of strength that he could mobilize with his iron will, and so the Daily Post was able to report on April 30, two and a half weeks after the stroke:

“Mr. Handel, who has been some time indisposed with the rheumatism, is in so fair a way of recovery, that it is hoped he will be able to accompany the opera of Justin on Wednesday next, the 4th of May; at which time we hear their Majesties will honor that opera with their presence. "

“Mr. Handel, who had been suffering from rheumatism for some time, is on the mend, so one can hope that he will be able to conduct the Giustino opera next Wednesday, May 4th . According to reports, Your Majesties will honor this opera performance with their presence. "

- The London Daily Post , London, April 30, 1737

It is unlikely that this hope would be fulfilled and that Handel would lead the performances again at the beginning of May.

Giustino was only performed again in Braunschweig in August 1741 under the title Justinus in a German text version by Christian Ernst Simonetti and a musical arrangement and under the direction of Georg Caspar Schürmann . While the arias were sung in the original Italian version, Schürmann composed the recitatives and choruses for these performances based on the German text by Simonetti.

The first revival of the opera in modern times took place in an abridged version in 1963 for schoolgirls at "Our Lady's Convent" in Abingdon (Great Britain), the same production, then more fully, on April 21, 1967 at the Unicorn Theater Club Abingdon in an English version Text version by Alan Kitching. Frances Kitching was the musical director. The first re-performance of the piece in the original language and historical performance was seen in San Francisco (Autumn Theater) on June 27, 1999 with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra under the direction of Nicholas McGegan .

action

Historical and literary background

Tremissis of Justin I.

When Emperor Leo I was elected to his powerful office in 457, he was too weak to secure the internal and external peace of his great country. That is why he formed an alliance with the Isaurs , who had risen from a wild nomadic people to a major military power. The emperor drew a great man of that nation named Tarasicodissa to his court, showered him with honors, gave him command of the troops and married him to his daughter Ariadne . This favorite had exchanged his former barbaric name for the more melodious Zeno . This honor angered the influential Roman Aspar . Fearing that Aspar would be murdered, Zeno fled to Antioch . Leo then promised Aspar that his youngest daughter Leontia would be his wife and appointed him Caesar and his successor. The people did not agree with that. Aspar had to flee and was murdered by Leo. Zeno protected the emperor from popular discontent and defeated the invading barbarians. The emperor's intention to appoint Zeno as his successor failed because of the indignant resistance of the people. The ambitious and cunning daughter Ariadne persuaded her father to name her four-year-old son emperor. The crowd cheered the child in satisfaction. Leo died shortly afterwards (474), and the grandson, Leo II , was the new emperor. Ariadne, worried that she would lose power while the child was immature, seated the young Leo on a throne, and when Zeno approached to pay homage to him, Leo adorned his father with a tiara and called him stammering by heart to Augustus and co-emperor. That was the young Leo’s first and only act of regent, soon after the poor boy disappeared, he was probably poisoned. Zeno, emperor from 474, cowardly, vain, hypocritical and vindictive, always fought against the fear of losing his emperor's dignity with his common sentiments, since the people and the elites did not accept him because of the questionable legitimacy of his rule. However, he ruled for 16 years. In between he was overthrown by his mother-in-law Verina , who wanted to get her lover Patricius the crown. Instead, however, her brother Basiliscus seized the throne and had Patricius executed. Zeno took advantage of the unrest and the resistance of the people against the cruelty and greed of Basiliscus and reclaimed his throne. He initially promised Basiliscus his life, but after the death sentence had him and his family thrown into a pit, where the latter starved and froze to death. Zeno died in 491. Historians say that during an orgy that was so frequent at court he was seized by an epileptic evil and believed to be dead. Ariadne could not have the funeral fast enough and, in her conjugal tenderness, placed guards in front of the grave so that no one would approach it and hear the screams of Zeno who had come to life. The 65-year-old Zeno had scarcely closed his eyes when his widow had Anastasios proclaimed emperor by the Senate. Anastasios was of poor class and had in no way distinguished himself. The basic trait of his character was hypocrisy, and he had cunningly crept into Ariadne's favor. Formerly of great masculine beauty, he was now white and bald at the age of 60, only noticeable by his eyes, one of which was blue, the other black. He displayed great piety, gave out Pharisaic alms with full hands, thus deceiving the crowd. Forty days after Zeno's enigmatic death, Ariadne married the new emperor. His nephews rose to great dignity. Flavius ​​Longinus , the brother of Zenos, did not accept the resignation. He allied himself with the Isaurian party and embroiled the country in a six-year civil war that ended with an Anastasios victory. Longin died in agony. In this war Justin excelled . Wars against the Bulgarians and the Saracens and especially against the Persians , locusts, earthquakes, famines and diseases accompanied the reign of Anastasius. Popular uprisings, riots and a horrific uprising in Constantinople, in which the flattery statues of Anastasius were smashed, were the immediate result. Ariadne died in 515, the emperor's daughter, wife of two emperors, impoverished, not weeping. Anastasios followed her into the grave three years later. After the death of the aged emperor, the army consulted about the appointment of a successor. A eunuch by the name of Amantius , of great influence at court, tried to get the choice of a man who was devoted to him. So he turned to one of the bodyguard officers, Justin, and gave him money to bribe the troops. But this won over the soldiers for himself who proclaimed him emperor. Many years ago, as a poor farmer's son, Justin and his two brothers walked from the Sardica area to Constantinople to try his luck here. The three brothers were of youthful stature; they were accepted into the imperial guard and distinguished themselves in each of the wars of that time. Justin was 68 years old when he was made emperor. He could neither read nor write. Justin's nine-year reign was not marked by war or bloody outrages. He sought peace with the neighbors. In the earliest times he had married a slave, Lupicinia, who called herself Euphemia as Empress and maintained her ignorance and crude manners on the throne, but was often distinguished by clever advice. The marriage was childless and the nephew Justinian was considered too young by the almost 80-year-old emperor to succeed him. Shortly before his death, Justin adopted him as heir to the throne. Justinian was not without influence even during his uncle's reign. On his advice, the eunuch Amantius and another favorite, Vitalianus , were executed. When he became emperor in 527, at the age of 45, an epoch of splendor and fame began for the Eastern Roman Empire with its authoritarian rulership, with the capital Constantinople.

first act

Preface to the textbook in English, Thomas Wood, 1737

Conditions were uncertain in the Byzantine Empire . But now Anastasio is crowned emperor, a “golden age” is expected. But the apparent happiness is short. The tyrant of Asia Minor Vitaliano stands with his army before the city, and the officer Polidarte demands the emperor's wife Arianna for the bed of the wild and enamored conqueror as the price for peace. Of course, Anastasio rejects the brazen request and, although he is not prepared for it, immediately goes into battle. His wife Arianna follows him in love and loyalty without his knowledge. But the general Amanzio is a dangerous companion to her. He wants to take the throne himself and decides to use all appropriate means. Because the end, he thinks, justifies the means.

The farmer Giustino dreams of the goddess Fortuna and is promised honor and fame, treasures and the ruler's crown when he leaves the local clod as a "hero" and moves into the big world. As a hero, he first frees a young woman from the cruel paws of a wild bear. Luck is with him. The woman is pretty and the sister of the emperor. Giustino came to Anastasio's court and came into possession of the love of the beautiful Leocasta.

In her room, Arianna asks Amanzio to help her follow her husband into battle. Amanzio meanwhile thinks about getting to the throne through a trick.

Anastasio makes Giustino his knight and orders him to free Arianna, who fell into the hands of the enemy during a night attack on Vitaliano's army.

In Vitaliano's army camp, Arianna is shown to Vitaliano. He now asks her directly to become his wife, but she swears her loyalty. He then orders Polidarte to throw them to a monster to eat.

Second act

Vitaliano slept through the struggle of his men for Constantinople. Polidarte brings him the imperial wife as a prize. Arianna resists all demands and requests of the strange man and remains loyal to the imperial Anastasio. So she is thrown to a wild beast on a desert island to eat.

Anastasio's ship capsizes in a storm. With Giustino, the emperor can save himself to the lonely island, and Giustino has the opportunity to perform a new heroic deed: the unfortunate Arianna, tied to a rock, desperately awaits her fate - the five-headed sea monster. But Giustino kills the monster and now also saves the empress.

Amanzio reaches the lonely island with sinister intentions on his own ship, finds the happy result of Giustino's unexpected heroic deed and transports the imperial family to the city. The hero Giustino is relegated to his limits.

Anastasio celebrates as a winner. Giustino crowns his heroism with a new deed: he takes the wild opponent Vitaliano as a prisoner. Only now has the victory really been achieved. Giustino considers himself irresistible and draws the sword to disperse the rest of the enemies. Amanzio pretends to be concerned about the existence of order: a peasant cannot be a winner.

When Arianna is brought before the terrible Vitaliano in chains under the mockery of the imperial court, she realizes with dismay that the man should die because of his love for her.

Vitaliano is freed from his followers. He will attack Anastasio again.

Third act

Arianna gives the winner Giustino the precious belt of Vitaliano, which she received from Anastasio. For the emperor, this is evidence of treason and infidelity. Giustino is disarmed and sentenced to death. Arianna is expelled from the imperial camp and throne. Anastasio demonstrates the pain of the disappointed.

Arianna is deeply wounded. Leocasta acts for her love. She frees Giustino and loses him because Giustino has to flee. Amanzio records the success of his intrigue: the way to the throne is free.

Giustino is in misery. As a refugee, he is a long way from the promised treasures and crowns. Vitaliano finds him sleeping and wants to kill him, then the mountain opens and the voice from the mountain demands a good solution: Giustino and Vitaliano are brothers. Both move to Constantinople, because "if the sick world is to recover, it needs noble men". They arrive there just in time to save Anastasio from the death to which the usurper Amanzio leads him. Giustino creates order in the empire and puts Anastasio back on the throne. Anastasio is reconciled with Arianna, makes Giustino co-emperor, and everyone celebrates the peace that has now been established and the peaceful harmony in which everyone finds their personal happiness.

music

Handel composed Giustino at the same time as Arminio , an opera in which a Germanic prince inflicts a defeat on the approaching Romans. With this theme he found favor with the House of Hanover , which saw itself as a defender of the Protestant faith against the arbitrary attacks of Catholic France. Giustino, on the other hand, is a kind of Baroque Dick Whittington : he does not attain supreme power because of hereditary rights, but because of his character virtues. Although Giustino learns of his noble descent in the course of the event, Handel dismisses this fact in a semi-comical way. He does not want to impress his audience with this detail from Giustino's life, but rather by the fact that in the end he becomes emperor because he is the right man for it. In a similar way, the Hanoverians - albeit of noble blood - did not come to the British throne by succession, but because they were elected by Parliament in place of the Stuarts : the Protestant succession made them the right people for this office. They guaranteed a life of peace and the protection of trade that would bring their British subjects a new golden age.

Fortuna , Albrecht Dürer , ca.1502

A number of changes were made while working on Giustino. In Handel's autograph , the part of Amanzio is notated partly in alto and partly in bass clef. As in the role of Tullio in Arminio , Handel assigned the role of alto Maria Caterina Negri, since there was no other bassist available to him besides Henry Reinhold. The Negri had already portrayed a similarly cunning villain as Polinesso in Ariodante . In the first act, he expanded the Vivaldi libretto to include an appearance by Amanzio, in which Amanzio was able to announce his betrayal. The end of the second act was completely different in the autograph: the scene between Ariadne and Vitaliano was followed by a conversation between Amanzio and Anastasio; this scene closed with the emperor's aria. The third act began with a sinfonia (Allegro), which describes Vitaliano's escape from the prison tower; Vitaliano's recitative and aria of revenge follow. It is difficult to determine why this scene was deleted, because there was a stage set with a tower, which was also needed in the last act of Berenice .

Handel took particular care in Giustino's first appearance, when Fortuna appeared to him with her bike and Leocasta then took him to the imperial court in Constantinople. The aria of the Leocasta "Nacque al bosco" (No. 11), (which contains one of the most important lessons of the fable), provided Handel in its second version with a more flowing melody and fuller orchestration. Giustino's aria immediately before the emperor's salvation (in the last act) “Sollevar il mondo opresso” (No. 38) has been rewritten; in it he expresses his wish to "help the oppressed world." Even in the overture , Fortuna seems to be turning her wheel down to the last bars. When the widowed Arianna chooses Anastasio as her companion in the first act, he is lifted high on Fortuna's bike. Later in the course of this act, he (as well as Arianna) are drawn back down because Vitaliano takes his wife prisoner. Leocasta is saved from death by Giustino and gradually falls in love with him. Giustino is under the personal protection of Fortuna, which promises him the whole world. Vitaliano begins to get on her bike because he won the battle and captured the much sought-after woman. Only Amanzio stays outside the turning wheel, awaiting his hour.

The second act brings new turns of fortune. Giustino saves Arianna and brings her back to Anastasio; Vitaliano goes to prison; Giustino becomes the emperor's favorite. And the wheel continues to turn in the third act: Vitaliano manages to escape - Giustino is convicted; Amanzio seizes power and imprisons Leocasta, Arianna and Anastasio. The alliance between Vitaliano and Giustino gets the bike going again; Amanzio loses his life. At the end of the opera, all the main characters are high up on the bike, and the choir proclaims victory over calamity.

The tenor role of Vitaliano is that of a tormented man. His first massive appearance in the first act, accompanied by brass, shows the soldier side of himself. He becomes a ruffian when Arianna, who is in his power, refuses to accept him. Musically, however, he is best - in a more masochistic state of mind - as Arianna's prisoner. His follower Polidarte sings a powerful aria in the second act, but otherwise has little to do. Amanzio's pieces are cheerful, including a triumph song on the occasion of the accession to the throne for one of the shortest reigns in opera history. The rhythmic swing of his music is reminiscent of Fortuna's wheel. In the music for Leocasta, considerations are made more about the content of the opera than about her own mental state. In “Nacque al bosco” she summarizes Giustino's future tasks in life, while “Sventurata navicella” (No. 24) consists of a commentary on her own insecurity and the endangerment of others. A more personal - albeit somewhat temperamental - side of her being only comes to light in her aria “Augelletti, garruletti” (No. 34).

Anastasio sings his first wonderful aria when he leaves for the war, another aria full of fiery anger “Di Re sdegnato l'ira tremenda” (No. 32) in the last act. In contrast, the melancholy beauty of his piece “O fiero e rio sospetto” conveys “ (No. 28) the image of a regent worn down by worries. The title hero Giustino shows in the third act with his slander aria “Zeffiretto, che scorre nel prato” (No. 31) a sensitive side of his being, while in all other “glorious” pieces, especially in the horn aria “Allor ch'io forte ” (No. 13) shows its daring manner. Handel composed the role of Arianna for Anna Maria Strada del Pó, which for him a. a. had already embodied Alcina and Ginevra in the Ariodante . Arianna's imperious attitude is evident in her resistance to Vitaliano, especially in the aria "Quel torrente che s'innalza" (No. 27). In her lamentations - both during her imprisonment and later in her grief over her husband's jealousy - the vulnerable, loving soul of this queen is expressed. She is the actual image of Giustino and perhaps suits him better than her desperate husband. Handel also enriched the work with magnificent choirs - not to mention the musical representation of a bear and a sea monster!

Some claim that the composer Johann Friedrich Lampe made fun of these lurid stage monsters in his farce The Dragon of Wantley (1737); Incidentally, in Lampe's work the eloquent dragon is slain by the bold Moore of Moore Hall. But in addition to allusions to Handel's operas, Lampe and his librettist Henry Carey seem to have targeted his oratorios , especially the ode composition Das Alexander-Fest . Handel is reported to have enjoyed The Dragon of Wantley a lot . He was sure to have a good joke; his sense of humor peers through every crack in Giustino's turbulent plot , in which we experience a highly imaginative and narrative Handel who looks at his opera characters with pleasure and sympathy.

Structure of the opera

  • overture

first act

  • Coro - Viva Augusto, eterno impero!
  • Aria (Anastasio) - Un vostro sguardo, o luci arciere
  • Aria (Arianna) - Da 'tuoi begli occhi impara
  • Aria (Giustino) - Può ben nascer tra li boschi
  • Aria (Giustino) - Bel ristoro de 'mortali
  • Arioso e Recitativo (Fortuna) - Corri, vola, a 'tuoi trofei
  • Coro - Corri, vola, a 'tuoi trofei
  • Recitativo e Aria (Giustino) - Chi mi chiama alla gloria? - Se parla nel mio cor
  • Aria (Leocasta) - Nacque nel bosco, nacque al prato
  • Sinfonia
  • Aria (Amanzio) - È virtute in sin la frode
  • Aria (Leocasta) - Alloo ch'io forte avrò
  • Aria (Anastasio) - Non si vanti un'alma audace
  • Arioso (Vitaliano) - All'armi, o guerrieri!
  • Aria (Vitaliano) - Vanne, vanne, sì, superba, va '
  • Aria (Arianna) - Mio dolce amato sposo

Second act

  • Sinfonia
  • Aria (Polidarte) - Ritrosa bellezza, o poco s'apprezza
  • Sinfonia
  • Duetto (Arianna, Anastasio) - Mia dolce speme! mio caro bene
  • Coro - Per voi soave e bella
  • Aria (Leocasta) - Sventurata navicella
  • Arioso (Anastasio) - Verdi lauri, cingetemi il crine
  • Aria (Giustino) - Sull'altar di questo Nume
  • Aria (Arianna) - Quel torrente che s'innalza

Third act

  • Sinfonia
  • Aria (Anastasio) - O fiero e rio sospetto
  • Aria (Vitaliano) - Il piacer della vendetta
  • Aria (Giustino) - Zeffiretto, che scorre nel prato
  • Aria (Anastasio) - Di Re sdegnato l'ira tremenda
  • Aria (Arianna) - Il mio cor già più non sa
  • Aria (Leocasta) - Augelletti garruletti
  • Aria (Amanzio) - Dall'occaso in oriente
  • Recitativo e Aria (Giustino) - Fortuna! m'hai tradita! - Trattien l'acciar!
  • Aria (Giustino) - Sollevar il mondo oppresso
  • Arioso (Amanzio) - Or che cinto ho il crin d'alloro
  • Sinfonia
  • Aria (Arianna) - Ti rendo questo cor
  • Coro
    • Solo - In braccio a te la calma del cor
    • Tutti - Siam lieti in questo giorno

orchestra

Two recorders , bass recorder, two oboes , bassoon , two horns , two trumpets , strings, basso continuo (violoncello, lute, harpsichord).

Performance history

The opera was performed in Halle an der Saale and in Wiesbaden in 2017 - with the Lautten Compagney from Berlin , conducted by Wolfgang Katschner .

Discography

Orchestra of the Komische Oper ; Dir. Hartmut Haenchen (DVD, German, 120 min); Directed by Harry Kupfer (stage) and Annelies Thomas (DVD)
Freiburg Baroque Orchestra ; Dir. Nicholas McGegan (173 min)

literature

swell

Web links

Commons : Giustino  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Editing management of the Halle Handel Edition : Documents on life and work. , in: Walter Eisen (Ed.): Händel-Handbuch: Volume 4 , Deutscher Verlag für Musik , Leipzig 1985, ISBN 3-7618-0717-1 , p. 267
  2. ↑ a b Edition management of the Halle Handel Edition : Documents on life and work. , in: Walter Eisen (Hrsg.): Handel manual: Volume 4 , Deutscher Verlag für Musik , Leipzig 1985, ISBN 3-7618-0717-1 , p. 269
  3. ↑ a b Edition management of the Halle Handel Edition : Documents on life and work. , in: Walter Eisen (Ed.): Händel-Handbuch: Volume 4 , Deutscher Verlag für Musik , Leipzig 1985, ISBN 3-7618-0717-1 , p. 270
  4. ↑ a b c Friedrich Chrysander : GF Handel , second volume, Breitkopf & Härtel , Leipzig 1860, p. 394 ff.
  5. ^ Editing management of the Halle Handel Edition : Documents on life and work. , in: Walter Eisen (Hrsg.): Handel manual: Volume 4 , Deutscher Verlag für Musik , Leipzig 1985, ISBN 3-7618-0717-1 , p. 266
  6. ↑ a b c Christopher Hogwood : Georg Friedrich Handel. A biography (= Insel-Taschenbuch 2655), from the English by Bettina Obrecht, Insel Verlag , Frankfurt am Main / Leipzig 2000, ISBN 3-458-34355-5 , pp. 235 ff.
  7. ^ Editing management of the Halle Handel Edition : Documents on life and work. , in: Walter Eisen (Ed.): Händel-Handbuch: Volume 4 , Deutscher Verlag für Musik , Leipzig 1985, ISBN 3-7618-0717-1 , p. 271
  8. ^ Charles Burney : A general history of music: ... Vol. 4 , London 1789, pp. 403-411 ( digitized in the Google book search). Reprinted from the Cambridge Library Collection, 2010, ISBN 978-1-108-01642-1 , p. 399
  9. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Duncan Chisholm: Justin und das Rad Fortuna , in: "Handel. Giustino", from the English by Ingeborg Neumann, harmonia mundi france 907130-32, Los Angeles 1995, p. 23 ff.
  10. ^ Silke Leopold : Handel. The operas. , Bärenreiter-Verlag , Kassel 2009, ISBN 978-3-7618-1991-3 , p. 248
  11. ↑ Winton Dean : Handel's Operas, 1726-1741. Boydell & Brewer, London 2006, Reprint: The Boydell Press, Woodbridge 2009, ISBN 978-1-84383-268-3 , p. 365
  12. ↑ Many musicologists, following Otto Erich Deutsch (Handel: A Documentary Biography , London 1955, reprint New York, 1974, p. 431), place the beginning of Handel's illness on April 13, 1737. Deutsch's statement is obviously a misinterpretation of Friedrich Chrysander ( G F. Handel , second volume, Leipzig, 1860, p. 401), and cannot be justified. See also: John H. Roberts: Handel and Vinci's 'Didone abbandonata': Revisions and Borrowings. Music & Letters, Vol. & N68, No. & n2, Oxford University Press (1987), p. 141.
  13. ↑ a b Edition management of the Halle Handel Edition : Documents on life and work. , in: Walter Eisen (Hrsg.): Handel manual: Volume 4 , Deutscher Verlag für Musik , Leipzig 1985, ISBN 3-7618-0717-1 , p. 280
  14. ↑ Christopher Hogwood : Georg Friedrich Handel. A biography (= Insel-Taschenbuch 2655), from the English by Bettina Obrecht, Insel Verlag , Frankfurt am Main / Leipzig 2000, ISBN 3-458-34355-5 , p. 239
  15. ^ Friedrich Chrysander : GF Handel , second volume, Breitkopf & Härtel , Leipzig 1860, p. 399
  16. ^ Bernd Baselt : Thematic-systematic directory. Stage works. , in: Walter Eisen (Ed.): Händel-Handbuch: Volume 1 , Deutscher Verlag für Musik , Leipzig 1978, ISBN 3-7618-0610-8 , Unchanged reprint, Kassel 2008, ISBN 978-3-7618-0610-4 , P. 449 f.
  17. ↑ Franz Freiherr von Andlach: The Byzantine emperor , Mainz 1865, in: Giustino , program, Komische Oper, Berlin 1984