Monteverdi: Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria (DVD) – Furio Zanasi, Lucile Richardot

Composer: Claudio Monteverdi
Artists: Furio Zanasi, Lucile Richardot, Krystian Adam, Hana Blažíková, Gianluca Buratto, Michal Czerniawski, Gareth Treseder, Zachary Wilder, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists
Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
Directors: John Eliot Gardiner & Elsa Rooke
Video Format: 16:9 Anamorphic
Sound Format: Dolby Digital
Language: Italian
Subtitles: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean
Region: All Regions
Number of Discs: 1
Studio: Opus Arte
Release Date: May 27, 2022
Run Time: 195 minutes

Claudio Monteverdi was a pioneer in the origins and development of opera, taking vocal music beyond Renaissance polyphony and entering a modern era in which genuine feelings and emotions are expressed through a wide variety of characters. Part of a late flowering in Monteverdi’s illustrious career, Il ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria, is considered the most tender and moving of his three surviving operas. 

The piece takes its narrative from the second half of Homer’s Odyssey, presenting Ulysses as a flawed hero; a lone wanderer who must overcome cruel tests, terrible hardships, treachery and deception before he can be reunited with his faithful queen Penelope and recover his kingdom. 

Recorded in Venice’s historical Teatro La Fenice, this semi-staged production is part of John Eliot Gardiner’s acclaimed celebration of Monteverdi’s 450th anniversary, a true milestone in Western cultural history.

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