Giustino
by Giovanni Legrenzi

Making its Australian premiere, Giustino is a triumph by Legrenzi, one of the most important opera composers in Venice in the late 1670s. It’s a classic rags-to-riches story of the peasant Giustino who, through a series of adventures and magical interventions, ultimately becomes the Emperor of Rome. Director Dean Bryant will head an impressive artistic team to reimagine Giustino for today’s audiences. Dean is well known for his sensitive and insightful staging of main stage operas and musicals in Australia and internationally, Giustino will be his first production for Pinchgut Opera.

A feast for countertenor lovers, Giustino features three: American Nicholas Tamagna makes his Pinchgut debut in the title role, and English star Owen Willetts (The Coronation of Poppea, 2017) makes his anticipated return, alongside Australian favourite Russell Harcourt (Artaserse, 2018). Soprano Lauren Lodge-Campbell and tenor Jacob Lawrence both return to Pinchgut after standout performances in Monteverdi’s The Return of Ulysses (2019).

Giustino exemplifies the heart and soul of Pinchgut Opera: bringing together the finest Baroque specialists to discover one of the forgotten treasures of the past in a fresh and exciting context.

• Artists

  Nicholas Tamagna

  Giustino

  Madeleine Pierard

  Arianna

  Jacob Lawrence

  Anastasio

  Lauren Lodge-Campbell

  Eufemia

  Owen Willetts

  Vitaliano

  Russell Harcourt

  Andronico

  Louis Hurley †

  Amanzio

  Andrew O’Connor 

  Polimante / Erasto

  Chloe Lankshear*

  Fortuna / Venus / Allegrezza /Gloria

  Orchestra of the Antipodes

  Erin Helyard

  Conductor

  Dean Bryant

  Director

  Jeremy Allen

  Set Designer

  Melanie Liertz

  Costume Designer

  † Louis Hurley is the Humanity Foundation Taryn Fiebig Scholar

  *Chloe Lankshear is the Taryn Fiebig Scholar