The plot of ‘Il Giustino’ describes the title role’s personal itinerary: a country boy riding the wave of his ambition towards glory and the throne. In a time like ours, when Hollywood stars marry into the European royal families, the theme of ambition and quest for glory is still hearfelt; these stories are played out in front of the world, like in front of an audience, and little do we know about the changing inner feelings of these modern ‘heroes’. In our performance of Vivaldi’s opera, Giustino’s adventures are observed by the members of the court, who move on stage during the entire opera, operating the moving elements of the set, in order to perform the necessary scene changes. A painted element in the set represents Giustino’s inner landscape, a picture of his inner feelings as they evolve along the story line, from country man to husband of a princess and Emperor.