Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria

"Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria" (SV 325, "The Return of Ulysses to His Country") is an opera ("dramma per musica") in a prologue and five acts by Claudio Monteverdi to an Italian libretto by Giacomo Badoaro, based on the final portion of Homer's "Odyssey". It was first performed at the Teatro di SS Giovanni e Paolo in Venice in February 1640.

History

This was Monteverdi's first opera for Venice. The opera was very successful in Venice, where it had ten performances, and was then taken to the Teatro Guastavillani in Bologna, and in 1641 was revived in Venice. In Bologna, and most likely Venice as well, the singers were Giulia Paolelli as Penelope, Maddalena Manelli as Minerva, and Francesco Manelli as Ulysses. The attribution of this work has been seriously questioned, however the attribution to Monteverdi still stands. The extant librettos differ significantly from the score, however Monteverdi was known to be a very active editor of the texts he set. The first modern revival was lead by Vincent d'Indy in Paris in 1925. A number of twentieth century composers edited, or "translated", the work for performance, including Luigi Dallapiccola and Hans Werner Henze, and finally entered the opera mainstream in 1971 with performances in Vienna and Glyndebourne, and an edition by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, along with recordings.

Roles

ynopsis

:Place: Greece.:Time: Shortly after the Trojan War.

Act 1

The first scene begins in Ulisse's palace, where his wife Penelope is being helped by her nurse, Ericlea. Penelope talks to Ericlea of how lonely she feels waiting for her husband to return from the war. This is followed by a duet between Melanto, Penelope's attendant, and Eurimacus, Melanto's lover. In the second scene, Jove and Neptune discuss the gods' punishement of the sins of man. The scene changes once again, finding Ulisse on a Phaeacian ship as he nears Ithaca. While sleeping, Ulisse is placed on the shore of Ithaca, but upon awakening, he believes he has been marooned. He wonders why he can never seem to make it home, and soon meets a shepherd. The shepherd is in fact Minerva, and she comforts Ulisse, revealing to him that he is indeed in Ithaca, and impelling him to go back to his home. Minerva lets herself eventually be recognized, and tells Ulisse she will disguise him so he can return home and retake his palace, bringing joy to the once cheerless Ulisse.

Act 2

The scene opens with Eumete alone in a grove and thinking of how content he is as a poor swineherd and how sad rich princes often are. Iro walks into this and ridicules Eumete, speaking of how wonderful his life is compared to that of the herdsman. Eumete tells off Iro, and then is found lamenting his master's absence by Ulisse. Ulisse, unrecognized by Eumete, tells Eumete that Ulisse will be successful. They are both happy as they leave together, with Eumete glad to hear what Ulisse has said and Ulisse glad to have a guide. The next scene is on Telemaco's return from his voyage, aided by Minerva. The scene changes again to the grove where Eumete was, and Telemaco meets Eumete with an old man whom he does not recognize. Eumete says the old man has fortified his belief that Ulisse will soon return. Telemaco tells Eumete to go and report to Penelope that he has returned and that she should not give up hope on Ulisse's return. Once Eumete leaves, Ulisse reveals his identity to Telemaco, and he and his son rejoice at their reunion. Ulisse then tells Telemaco to return to the palace and tell Penelope to be expecting him soon. The next scene is in the palace, where 3 suitors try both individually and as a group to change Penelope's faithful mind. Eumete then enters the palace, telling Penelope that it may not be long before Ulisse returns. Penelope exits, leaving the suitors to plan on how to turn her from Ulisse before it is too late.

Act 3

Ulisse is in the palace dressed as a poor beggar, and during a meal Antinoo makes snide remarks toward him. Iro does the same, but loses a wrestling match against Ulisse when he is challenged. Penelope compliments him on his impressive victory, and once all the suitors are together again, she challenges them to draw Ulisse's bow; the winner will become her husband. All three suitors fail to do so, and Ulisse follows by asking to be allowed a chance. He says he just wants to test his strength, and that he will not take the prize if he succeeds. To the astonishment of the suitors, he draws the bow, then proceeds to kill each suitor. In the next scene, Iro is lamenting his new position. He is now without a patron and he is also hungry. He decides the best course of action for him to take is suicide. A new scene has Telemaco and Eumete unable to get Penelope to believe that the seemingly old man is her husband. She believes that she may yet be being deceived, even when Ulisse is given his proper attire. When Ericlea identifies the man as Ulisse by a scar on his leg, Penelope won't believe her either. She lets down her guard and rejoices only after Ulisse tells her about the cover on her bed, something only he could know anything about. The opera concludes with a duet between Penelope and Ulisse, happily reunited as husband and wife.

Noted arias

*"Di misera regina" (Penelope)
*"Dormo ancora" (Ulisse)
*"O gran figlio d'Ulisse" (Eumete)
*"Godo anc'io" (Ulisse)
*"Illustratevi o cieli" (Penelope)

Media

References

Ellen Rosand. "Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria", "Grove Music Online", ed. L. Macy (accessed CURRENTMONTHNAME CURRENTDAY CURRENTYEAR), [http://www.grovemusic.com/ grovemusic.com] (subscription access).
*Kobbé, Gustav. "The Definitive Kobbé's Book of Opera". Ed. The Earl of Harewood. 1st American ed. New York: G.P. Putnam's and Sons, 1987. 1040-1041.