In his penultimate opera, based on text adapted from Homer’s Odyssey, Monteverdi ventures further than ever before into the depths of human emotion. In this ‘dramma in musica’ human frailty falls victim to time, fortune and love. Gods and humans, comic and intensely serious characters plus spectacular scenic effects are brought together in a wonderfully rich and effective texture. Pierre Audi’s highly stylised and timeless production is captured here in a live recording from Het Muziektheater Amsterdam.

Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Graciela Araya, Toby Spence, Jaco Huijpen, Christopher Gillett, Brian Asawa
Baroque Orchestra of De Nederlandse Opera / Glen Wilson
Stage Director Pierre Audi



Plus
Illustrated Synopsis & Cast Gallery.

Introduction to the opera including interviews with Glen Wilson and Pierre Audi.

Reviews
‘A strikingly staged, beautifully sung production.’
New York Times

‘Pierre Audi’s daringly minimalist production bespeaks a belief in opera as theatre that one rarely encounters… This is opera as music drama, and an experience not to be missed.’
New York Post

‘That the presentness of theatre and the pastness of music can coincide is one of the miracles of opera, and is one of the miracles of Mr. Audi’s production.’
The New Yorker

‘The accompaniment is as pared to the bone as possible which makes the orchestral sound very intimate. This intimacy is carried into an attractive, formal and timeless staging. Once again, Audi extracts dramatically convincing performances from his singers with Anthony Rolfe Johnson a committed Ulysees and Graciela Araya a rich voiced, affecting Penelope.’
Opera Now

‘…musical director Glen Wilson … has directed the work from the harpsichord, kept the scoring small-scale and given prominence to the voices. This approach complements Pierre Audi’s interior reading of the characters, and is intensified by excellent lighting and camera work. …the cast is a good one, with mature performances from Anthony Rolfe Johnson and Graciela Araya and some really fine singing from Toby Spence as Telemaco. Brian Asawa also sings nicely…’
BBC Music Magazine

‘Audi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse is a masterpiece of controlled timing and patience… Graciela Araya’s Penelope sheds real tears while maintaining a dignified stage presence. Few tenors can match Anthony Rolfe Johnson’s ability to deliver vocal beauty with authority (this 1998 performance shows him still at his best).‘
The Gramophone

‘When, in the Eighties, the unknown stage director Pierre Audi started at the Nederlandse Opera … the audience was astounded and surprised that early Baroque operas could be so beautiful and exciting. Audi’s very clean and meditative stage direction and his focus on the essence in design are very effective…It is a good idea of Opus Arte to release these Monteverdi stagings by Audi on DVD…
In Il Ritorno di Ulisse it is Anthony Rolfe Johnson and Graciela Araya who impress as Odysseus and Penelope.
The recordings are made with care and theatrical feeling, and the sound quality is good.’
The Standard, Belgium (translation)

‘Well staged and superbly sung this minimalist production is truly theatrical. Seeing and hearing a work first performed in 1641 is a thrilling experience. …this DVD is an essential for any serious opera collector’s library.’
Audience Today

Awards & Accolades:
Diamant in Opera Magazine (France 2006)

CAT NO: OA 0927 D
FORMAT: NTSC
REGIONS: All Regions
PICTURE FORMAT: 16:9
LENGTH: 176 Mins
SOUND: DTS SURROUND / LPCM STEREO
SUBTITLES: EN/FR/DE/ES/IT/NL
RELEASED: 29/08/2005
NO OF DISCS: 2