麻豆约拍

Tess Knighton compares available versions of Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse and makes a personal recommendation, in a survey which reflects forty years of changing fashions in period performance.

One of the late, great works from the end of Monteverdi's life, Il ritorno d'Ulisse tells the story of Ulysses' return to his homeland after the Trojan War. It went down well in Venice at its 1640 premiere but not long after that it languished unperformed until it was rediscovered by a number of 20th-century composers, including d'Indy, Dallapiccola and Henze. But Il ritorno d'Ulisse only properly entered the operatic mainstream in the early 1970s, when it was recorded complete for the first time.

Top recommendation on CD:

MONTEVERDI: Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria

Anizio Zorzi Giustiniani (Ulisse), Jose Maria Lo Monaco (Penelope), Roberta Mameli (Minerva), Makoto Sakurada (Telemaco, Eurimaco), Salvo Vitale (Nettuno), Giorgia Milanesi (Giunone) Francesca Cassinari, Vincenzo Di Donato, Marco Bussi, Alessio Tossi, Roberto Balconi, Paolo Antognetti, Francesca Lombardi, Luca Dordolo, Marta Fumagall, La Venexiana, Claudio Cavina (conductor)

GLOSSA GCD920920 (3CD mid-price)

Top recommendation on DVD:

MONTEVERDI: Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria

Kobie van Rensburg (Ulisse), Christine Rice (Penelope), Cyril Auvity (Telemaco), Joseph Cornwell (Eumete), Les Arts Florissants, William Christie (conductor) (conductor), Pierluigi Pizzi (director)

DYNAMIC 33641 (2DVD Video)

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