Instrumentation
0.2.ca.0.2 - atrbn.2 ttrbn.btrbn - 2 hasrpsichord -harp - 3 lute - gtr - flue organ - reed organ -strings
Availability
Full score, vocal score and parts for hire
Programme Notes
Ulysses, the second of Monteverdi’s three surviving operas, was composed in 1641 for performance in Venice. The story, takendirectly from the Odyssey, has a stark, epic quality. Its focus is directed to the characters themselves, probing the inner aspects of human drama, against the background conflict of the Olympians who control destiny.
Reviews
‘A restored masterpiece of opera, spontaneous, and instantly communicative, deeply emotional and rich both in melodic invention and in all those ingenuities of design and device that we think of as typically Monteverdian. What is most remarkable in the opera is the freedom and natural ease of the vocal writing as it moves from declamation to formal song. Each character comes to life in musical terms, while for their confrontations Monteverdi draws on his madrigal techniques of half a century…all the potent theatrical magic finally yields to the simplest and deepest emotions of humanity and truth.’
The Sunday Times