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Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (The Return of Ulysses to His Country) is an opera (dramma per musica) in a prologue and three 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.

Contents 1 Characters 2 Noted arias 3 History 4 Synopsis 5 Media 6 Reference

• Gods
  • Giove - tenor
  • Nettuno - bass
  • Minerva - soprano
  • Giunone - soprano
  • Heavenly spirits - women's chorus
• Mortals
  • Ulisse - baritone or tenor
  • Penelope, his wife - contralto
  • Telemaco, his son - tenor
  • Melanto, Penelope's handmaiden - mezzo-soprano
  • Eumete, a shepherd - tenor
  • Eurimaco, Melanto's lover - tenor
  • Ericlea, Ulisse's nurse - contralto
  • Penelope's suitors
    • Pisandro - tenor or countertenor
    • Anfinomo - tenor
    • Antinoo - bass
    • Iro, servant of the suitors - tenor
  • Sailors, Phoenicians - men's chorus
• In the prologue
  • Human frailty - tenor
  • Time - bass
  • Fortune - soprano
  • Amore - soprano

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

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 Castrovillani 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.

Time: Shortly after the Trojan War.

Place: Greece.

Ellen Rosand. "Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed March 30, 2007), grovemusic.com (subscription access).