BaL 13.06.15 - Monteverdi: Il Ritorno d'Ulisse

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

0930
Tess Knighton compares available versions of Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse and makes a personal recommendation, in a survey which reflects forty years of changing fashions in period performance.

One of the late, great works from the end of Monteverdi's life, Il ritorno d'Ulisse tells the story of Ulysses' return to his homeland after the Trojan War. It went down well in Venice at its 1640 premiere but not long after that it languished unperformed until it was rediscovered by a number of 20th-century composers, including d'Indy, Dallapiccola and Henze. But Il ritorno d'Ulisse only properly entered the operatic mainstream in the early 1970s, when it was recorded complete for the first time.

Available versions:


Anizio Zorzi Giustiniani (Ulisse), Josè Maria Lo Monaco (Penelope), Roberta Mameli (Minerva), Makoto Sakurada (Telemaco, Eurimaco), Salvo Vitale (Nettuno), Giorgia Milanesi (Giunone) with Francesca Cassinari, Vincenzo Di Donato, Marco Bussi, Alessio Tossi, Roberto Balconi, Paolo Antognetti, Francesca Lombardi, Luca Dordolo, Marta Fumagall
La Venexiana, Claudio Cavina

Kresimir Spicer (Ulisse), Marjana Mijanovic (Penelope), Cyril Auvity (Telemaco), Éric Raffard (Giove)
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie

Leroy Villanueva (Ulisse), Gloria Banditelli (Penelope), Mark Tucker (Telemaco), Guillemette Laurens (Minerva/La Fortuna), Ivan Kiurkciev (Giove/Anfinomo), Daniela Del Monaco (Pisandro/Umana Fragilità), Giovanni Battista Palmieri (Eumete), Caterina Calvi (Ericlea), T. Martin (Eurimaco), N. Nackley (Amore), J. Carkci (Melanto), Gian Paolo Fagotto (Iro)
Sonotori de la Gioiosa Marca, Alan Curtis

Paul Esswood, Max van Egmond, Kurt Equiluz & Norma Lerer
Concentus musicus Wien, Nikolaus Harnoncourt

Christoph Prégardien (Ulisse), Bernarda Fink (Penelope), Christina Högman (Telemaco), Lorraine Hunt (Minerva), Dominique Visse (Pisandro), Mark Tucker (Anfinomo), David Thomas (Antinoo), Olivier Lallouette (Giove), Martina Borst (Amore), Michael Schopper (Nettuno)
Concerto Vocale, René Jacobs

Fernando Guimarães (Ulisse), Jennifer Rivera (Penelope), Aaron Sheehan (Telemaco), Leah Wool (Minerva), Owen McIntosh (Giove), Abigail Nims (Melanto), Daniel Auchincloss (Eumaeus), Sonja DuToit Tengblad (Juno), Ulysses Thomas (Antinous) & Marc Molomot (Irus)
Boston Baroque, Martin Pearlman

Ann Murray, James King, Josef Protschka, Vinson Cole, Manfred Schenk, Thomas Allen
Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, Ensemble Spinario, Tölzer Knabenchor, Jeffrey Tate


DVD

Kobie van Rensburg (Ulisse), Christine Rice (Penelope), Cyril Auvity (Telemaco) & Joseph Cornwell (Eumete)
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie

Vesselina Kasarova (Pénélope), Dietrich Henschel (L’humanita Fragilita/ Ulisse), Malin Hartelius (Melanto), Jonas Kaufmann (Telemaco), Rudolf Schasching (Iro), Isabel Rey (Minerva/ Amorei) & Martina Jankovà (Fortuna/ Giunone)
Orchestra La Scintilla of The Zurich Opera House, Nikolaus Harnoncourt

Werner Hollweg, Trudeliese Schmidt, Francisco Araiza & Philippe Huttenlocher
Das Monteverdi-Ensemble des Opernhauses Zürich, Nikolaus Harnoncourt

Benjamin Luxon (Ulisse), Janet Baker (Penelope), Anne Howells (Minerva) & Robert Lloyd (Nettuno), Vivien Townley (Giunone), Ian Caley (Telemaco), Laureen Livingstone (Amore), David Hughes (Giove), Alexander Oliver (Iro), Ugo Trama (Antinoo), John Fryatt (Pisandro), Bernard Dickerson (Anfinomo), Richard Lewis (Eumete), Virginia Popova (Ericlea), John Wakefield (Eurimaco), Janet Hughes (Melanto), Annabel Hunt (Umana Fragilità)
The London Philharmonic Orchestra, Raymond Leppard

Anthony Rolfe Johnson (Ulisse), Graciela Araya (Penelope), Toby Spence (Telemaco), Jaco Huijpen (Antinoo), Christopher Gillett (Pisandro), Diana Montague (Minerva), Brian Asawa (Anfinomo)
Baroque Ensemble Orchestra, Glen Wilson

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Excellent news - many thanks, Alpie.

[vinteuil]

... many thanks for this, it looks interesting. I'm particularly keen to hear the Cavina/Venexiana interpretation.

I have an old CD version of Harnoncourt with the Monterverdi Ensemble / Opernhaus Zurich, and the Jacobs/Concerto Vocale.

I also have a fairly recent (1998?) CD set with Gabriel Garrido / Ensemble Elyma on the K617 label (Gloria Banditti, Furio Zanasi, Maria Cristina Kiehr, Jen-Paul Fouchécourt) - Alpie: I don't know whether still available?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I also have a fairly recent (1998?) CD set with Gabriel Garrido / Ensemble Elyma on the K617 label (Gloria Banditti, Furio Zanasi, Maria Cristina Kiehr, Jen-Paul Fouchécourt) - Alpie: I don't know whether still available?

This is available (1 copy, used) on Amazon for over £38, shipped from Japan!

[gurnemanz]

When deciding which one to get a few years ago, I went for Jacobs. I love Bernarda Fink and won't be needing another CD version. I might be up for a DVD. I remember being bowled over by Janet Baker from Glyndebourne on TV many years ago and am fascinated by the Harnoncourt which I don't know at all. I'm a huge Kasarova fan.

[Flosshilde]

Interesting that Leppard's Glyndebourne production (quite revolutionary in its day, I think) is available on DVD but not CD.

[doversoul1]

Unlike Orfeo and Poppea, I always found Ulisse hard work, so I thought I’d do homework, and find this very useful.

Werner Hollweg, Trudeliese Schmidt, Francisco Araiza & Philippe Huttenlocher
Das Monteverdi-Ensemble des Opernhauses Zürich, Nikolaus Harnoncourt

With English subtitles, and most wonderfully old fashioned (1979)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcUjr0nI-pA

Monteverdi - Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (actes 1-2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KACrc7UJAjM

Monteverdi - Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (actes 3)

[BBMmk2]

I have hardly any Monteverrdi in my collection, so Ii don't know this work at al, so a rather useful BaL, indeed. I do rather like William Christie, so I hope this proves to be chosen?

[CallMePaul]

According to Andrew Mc on Saturday last, the new Pearlman/ Boston Baroque recording will not be considered in next Saturday's BaL as it arrived too late for Tess Knighton to consider. There was a similar issue last Sat when the BBCPO/Storgards recording of Nielsen 3 was not considered for the same reason. Yet the current Gramophone has a (not particularly favourable) review of the Pearlman! If Gramophone reviewer David Vickers received the recording to review, presumably well before the magazine went to press, why could one not have been made available to the CD Review reviewer? It would have been good to have this included by a noted expert on the Renaissance/ early Baroque periods.

[MickyD]

I'm ashamed to say that though an ardent baroquer, I really find this work a tough nut to crack. I saw a traditionally-staged production of it at Sadler's Wells many years ago and thought the evening would never end. Must make more of an effort to listen to the BAL this time and see if TK can reveal its charms to me.

[umslopogaas]

Just checked to see what version(s) I have and wish I hadnt, it reminded me I'm getting old. I have only one version, an (even) earlier Harnoncourt with Concentus Musicus Wien and Sven Olof Eliasson as Ulysses, Norma Lerer as Penelope, on 4 Telefunken LPs. I cant find a date, but think it must be from the mid 1970s. No doubt it is terribly unHIP, but as I recall I very much liked it when I last played it, which I fear was a long time ago. Not sure I really want another version, though a CD one to play in the car wouldnt come amiss.

[Bryn]

Just checked to see what version(s) I have and wish I hadnt, it reminded me I'm getting old. I have only one version, an (even) earlier Harnoncourt with Concentus Musicus Wien and Sven Olof Eliasson as Ulysses, Norma Lerer as Penelope, on 4 Telefunken LPs. I cant find a date, but think it must be from the mid 1970s. No doubt it is terribly unHIP, but as I recall I very much liked it when I last played it, which I fear was a long time ago. Not sure I really want another version, though a CD one to play in the car wouldnt come amiss.

That old Harnoncourt version is still around, and well regarded by some:



Unlike the other two Monteverdi operas recorded in that series, however, there was no role for Cathy Berberian. She does get a further disc to herself, however. Worth the £15.24 including p&p via the marketplace for Cathy alone.

[umslopogaas]

Thanks Bryn, I think I might indulge in that box; as you say, Cathy Berberian is a remarkable performer. Can you post the serial number of the box?

[Bryn]

Thanks Bryn, I think I might indulge in that box; as you say, Cathy Berberian is a remarkable performer. Can you post the serial number of the box?

Warner gives the "Barcode" as 0825646314829. The amazon.co.uk code is ASIN: B00IWVDHAO

Review here.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Just checked to see what version(s) I have and wish I hadnt, it reminded me I'm getting old. I have only one version, an (even) earlier Harnoncourt with Concentus Musicus Wien and Sven Olof Eliasson as Ulysses, Norma Lerer as Penelope, on 4 Telefunken LPs. I cant find a date, but think it must be from the mid 1970s. No doubt it is terribly unHIP, but as I recall I very much liked it when I last played it, which I fear was a long time ago. Not sure I really want another version, though a CD one to play in the car wouldnt come amiss.

If you like it, there's absolutely no reason why you should apologise.