17.04.2026

OLIVIA VERMEULEN | As Anastasio in Vivaldis "Il Giustino"

Antonio Vivaldi stated that he composed more than 100 operas over the course of his career as a composer; however, they were not all of comparable quality. One of the most outstanding operas by the “Red Priest” is Il Giustino, which was performed in Rome in 1724 and contains a wide variety of splendid arias of different types. The orchestra is also richly orchestrated – typical of Vivaldi

A distinctive feature of the world premiere was that the composer casted the opera exclusively with men, including, for example, the Umbrian castrato Giacinto Fontana, who was known as ‘il farfallino’ (little butterfly) due to his delicate appearance.

René Jacobs successfully staged Vivaldi’s masterpiece opera at the Berlin State Opera Unter den Linden back in 2022 and is now embarking on a European tour with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, with stops at the Heidelberg Spring Festival (17 April), the Palau de la Música in Valencia (19 April), the deSingel cultural centre in Antwerp (21 April), the Freiburg Concert Hall (23 April) and – as the grand finale – the Teatro Real in Madrid (25 April). Olivia Vermeulen, who is well connected to the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra through various collaborations has already performed in Il Giustino under René Jacobs in Berlin before and will also be appearing in one of the leading roles. In this production, however, she lends her voice for the first time to the character of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasio with her characteristically expressive and technically assured mezzo-soprano, a figure who, as the driving force and dramatic catalyst, plays a decisive role in shaping the opera’s conflict-driven narrative …

Cast:

Rémy Brès-Feuillet, Giustino
Olivia Vermeulen, Anastasio
Katharyna Kasper, Arianna
Robin Johannsen, Leocasta
Siyabonga Maqungo, Vitaliano
Sonia Prina, Andronico
Mark Milhofer, Amanzio
Francesc Ortega i Martí, Polidarte

René Jacobs, conductor
Freiburger Baroque Orchestera