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Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria, a melodrama with prologue and three acts on a libretto by Giacomo Badoaro, is one of the last and extraordinary work of Claudio Monteverdi's creative vein made in the Venetian period. It had been a long time since the musician had forever impressed his name in the history of the opera with the Orfeo, set up at the court of Mantua in 1607. And after twenty years of inventions and successes spent in the service of the Gonzagas, Monteverdi felt the need to find new stimuli elsewhere. The choice fell on Venice, where in addition to the position of choirmaster in San Marco, the musician also devoted himself to madrigal and opera production. In the lagoon city, public theaters had recently been inaugurated with the consequent demand for ever new plays. Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria was born in that context and was staged in 1640 at the Teatro dei SS. Giovanni and Paolo. The work was exceptionally re-proposed the following year as a demonstration of the undisputed favor enjoyed by the elderly master, who once again had hit the mark. And even if the music in Ulisse is not intended to seduce the ear but rather to serve poetry according to the dictates of 'recitar cantando', Monteverdi nevertheless manages to characterize his characters with an incisive vocal style appropriate to their nature and always functional to the story.

New staging

The poster of the opera is inspired by a photo taken by the tenor Luca Canonici