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Organization

Singer

Tenor

Garry Magee

Ulysses

Mezzo-soprano

Delphine Galou

Penelope

Pavel Kolgatin

Telemachus

Soprano

Katija Dragojevic

Melanto

Marcel Beekman

Eumetes

Bass

Igor Bakan

Antinous

Jörg Schneider

Irus

Emanuele D'Aguanno

Jupiter

Phillip Ens

Neptune

Time

Sabina Puértolas

Minerva

Cupid

Cornelia Horak

Juno

Fortune

Rupert Enticknap

Human Frailty

Peisander

Countertenor

Tamás Tarjányi

Amphinomus

Sebastian Kohlhepp

Eurimaco

Conductor

Christophe Rousset

Stage director

Claus Guth

Set designer

Christian Schmidt

Costume designer

Video designer

Arian Andiel

Lighting designer

Bernd Purkrabek

Dramaturge

Konrad Kuhn

Libretto

Giacomo Badoaro

MusikTheater an der Wien

Orchestra

Les Talens Lyriques

Italian

Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria -  (The Return of Ulysses to His Homeland)

Vienna

Austria

Theater an der Wien

Grosser Pausenraum

Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria Monteverdi

The Return of Ulysses to His Homeland

German

Approved

THE RETURN OF ULYSSES TO THE HOMELAND (Claudio Monteverdi)

IL RITORNO D'ULISSE IN PATRIA  (Claudio Monteverdi)

After Monteverdi had created the first masterpiece of the new opera genre in 1607 with his L'Orfeo, premiered at the Mantuan court, 30 years later he composed
two more operas for Venice, where public opera houses had existed since 1637 : Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria based on a libretto by Giacomo Badoaro based on Homer's Odyssey, first performed 1639/40, and L'incoronazione di Poppea, first performed shortly before his death in
1643.

Il Tempo (transience), La Fortuna (fate) and Amore (love) make l'Umana fragilità (human frailty) clear in the prologue that every mortal is a plaything of these three. A drastic example of this is provided by the story of Ulisse's return home: for ten years he besieged Troy, and for another ten years his return was prevented by the wrath of the sea god Nettuno. If the goddess Minerva were not on his side, his wandering might never end. With her help, he can pass the last test that is placed on him after arriving in his native Ithaca: to recapture his wife Penelope. So far she has kept the space at her side free; but since everyone thinks her husband is dead, she is being courted more and more by three suitors. After Ulisse has knocked the rivals out of the field, Penelope refuses to recognize him as the missing husband. Only a renewed intervention by the gods clears the way for the reunification of those who have been separated so long.

Monteverdi wins
the portrait of a modern person from the mythical figure of Odysseus through his no-frills, at the same time emotionally charged music, who is shaped by his traumatic experiences in the war. The portrayal of Penelope is just as fascinating; she mourns what was believed to be lost in such an intense way that she does not want to admit the real encounter with him. Claus Guth continues his Monteverdi cycle with Il ritorno d 'Ulisse in patria. As in L'Orfeo, his approach is to use the 380-year-old piece to trace the fate of people who could be our contemporaries.

English

The Return of Ulysses to His Homeland by Monteverdi, From (2012/2012), Directed by Claus Guth,, Conductor Christophe Rousset, Theater an der Wien, Vienna, Austria

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