Count Nicolò Beregan (also Berengani and Bergani; 21 February 162717 December 1713) was a nobleman, lawyer and amateur opera librettist from the Republic of Venice.Ellen Rosand Opera in Seventeenth-Century Venice: The Creation of a Genre 2007 Page 188 "In other seasons Faustini managed to convince a variety of noblemen and a canon to turn author: Counts Zaguri and Nicolo Beregan in 1660 and 1661, respectively, and Dott. Cristoforo Ivanovich in 1663." His Giustino was first set to music in 1683 by composer Giovanni Legrenzi for Il Giustino, and later reused by both Vivaldi (Giustino, 1724) and Handel (Giustino, 1737).Music As Social and Cultural Practice Page 217 Melania Bucciarelli, Berta Joncus - 2007 "Nicolò Beregan's Giustino, first staged in 1683 and set by Vivaldi for Rome in 1724, has two successful couples, Giustino–Leocasta and Arianna–Anastasio, "
Biography Beregan was born in Vicenza on February 21, 1627. He was one of the best-known lawyers in Venice and was widely respected as a literary figure and classical scholar. His Italian translation of the works of the Latin poet Claudian is particularly well-regarded. He was a member of three academies: the Dodonei in Venice, the Concordi in Ravenna and the Gelati in Bologna. During his period of activity as a librettist he was in contact with the imperial court at Vienna and corresponded with John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick, a principal military and musical supporter of the Venetians. Beregan’s librettos, generally in a heroic vein, were set by some of the best-known composers of the time, and were revised or drawn upon by other librettists. Genserico (1669) was the source for the libretto of Handel’s uncompleted opera of that name; and Handel also set Pariati’s 1724 revision (for Rome) of Beregan’s Giustino (1683). Domenico Scarlatti wrote an opera based on Giustino to a text by Giulio Convò.
Librettos Annibale in Capita, set by Pietro Andrea Ziani, 1661Rivista politica e letteraria Volume 8 1899 Page 161 "All' Annibale in Capita, melodramma con poesia del conte Nicolò Beregan, patrizio veneto, e musica di D. Pietro Andrea Ziani, dato nel febbraio del 1661 nel teatro dei SS. Giovanni e Paolo, vi fu una tale ressa che una simile non si era mai "
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