About the work
Giustino is an opera seria by George Frideric Handel to a libretto based on Nicolò Beregan's 1682 text as reworked by Pietro Pariati. It premiered on 16 February 1737 at the theatre in Covent Garden, London, during one of the most demanding seasons of Handel's career.
Plot
The humble farmer Giustino saves Empress Arianna from a sea monster and captures the rebel Vitaliano, rising to become a favourite of Emperor Anastasio. The jealous general Amanzio turns the emperor against him, but once Vitaliano reveals himself as Giustino's long-lost brother, Giustino is cleared, made co-regent and married to the emperor's sister.
Cultural significance
Shortly after the premiere, Handel suffered a stroke in April 1737 that temporarily paralysed his right arm, forcing him to miss performances and the premiere of his next opera, "Berenice". Its fantastical sea-monster plot, spun from the historical figure of the Byzantine emperor Justin I, makes Giustino one of Handel's most imaginative operas.