Spinning the Wheel of Fortune: Vivaldi's Il Giustino in Berlin

Raffaele Pe (Anastasio)

Raffaele Pe (Anastasio) and Kateryna Kasper (Arianna)

Christophe Dumaux (Giustino)

Olivia Vermeulen (Amanzio) and Kateryna Kasper (Arianna)

Siyabonga Maqungo (Vitaliano) and Helena Rasker (Andronico)

By Elena Luporini, 22 November 2022

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

“oddly enough, this patchwork turns out to be effective, visually if not dramatically”

Reviewed at Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin on 20 November 2022

Vivaldi, Il Giustino, RV 717

Staatsoper Berlin

René Jacobs, Conductor

Barbora Horáková, Director

Thilo Ullrich, Set Designer

Eva Maria van Acker, Costume Designer

Sascha Zauner, Lighting Designer

Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin

Staatsopernchor Berlin

Jana Beckmann, Dramaturgy

Raffaele Pe, Anastasio

Kateryna Kasper, Arianna

Christophe Dumaux, Giustino

Robin Johannsen, Leocasta

Siyabonga Maqungo, Vitaliano

Helena Rasker, Andronico

Olivia Vermeulen, Amanzio

Magnus Dietrich, Polidarte, voce di Vitaliano Seniore

Martin Wright, Choirmaster / chorus director

Eyes wide shut for Berlin’s new Ballo

Mark Pullinger, 29th March

At the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Rafael R Villalobos addresses the problems he perceives with Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera, although the musical performances – led by Anna Netrebko – compensate.

***11

Young stars shine in the Staatsoper Berlin’s Rosenkavalier

Mark Pullinger, 28th March

Patricia Nolz makes an outstanding role debut as Christian Thielemann conducts a thrusting Rosenkavalier to open the Staatsoper Unter den Linden's Festtage.

*****

Love is in the hare: a new Cunning Little Vixen opens in Berlin

Elena Luporini, 28th February

The Staatsoper's new production of Janáček's opera buzzes with life thanks to Sir Simon Rattle's conducting and an excellent cast led by Vera-Lotte Boecker and Magdalena Kožená.

****1

Pintscher’s Das kalte Herz premieres at Staatsoper Unter den Linden

Elena Luporini, 14th January

On a snowy January evening, the premiere of Matthias Pintscher’s new opera Das kalte Herz fails to warm up the Berlin public.

**111

Happy 100th birthday, Wozzeck! Thielemann leads Berlin revival

Elena Luporini, 14th December

The Staatsoper Unter den Linden celebrates the 100th birthday of Alban Berg's masterpiece with a stellar cast in Andrea Breth’s revived production.

***11

Low on laughs: Die schweigsame Frau in Berlin

Elena Luporini, 19th July

Newly General Music Director Christian Thielemann and Jan Philipp Gloger bring Richard Strauss' Die schweigsame Frau to the Staatsoper Berlin for the first time, but la commedia is hardly stupenda.

**111

More reviews...

Elena Luporini

After completing their Master's degree in Musicology in Rome, Elena has now moved to Berlin to dedicate themselves to more things musical. With a publication on Béla Bartók and a seminar at the Humboldt-Universität underway, their interests mostly veer toward 20th-century opera, with some forays into queer musicology. Some of their latest undertakings also include oboe lessons, stencil-making and tea-making.

Spinning the Wheel of Fortune: Vivaldi's Il Giustino at the Staatsoper Berlin