Monteverdi: Il Ritorno D'ulisse In Patria / Leppa

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 (conductor) & Peter Hall (stage director)

Live Recording from The Glyndebourne Festival Opera, 1973

Based on the Greek legend of Ulysses and his return to Ithaca after years in the Trojans wars, the opera Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria is one of the earliest operas of its kind. This seminal 1973 production is directed by Peter Hall and conducted by Raymond Leppard at the Glyndebourne Festival. The terrific cast and crew, particularly the outstanding Janet Baker and Benjamin Luxon, stage an impassioned production that is accentuated by the gorgeous visual design. Monteverdi’s music is of transcendental beauty. He took what had previously been rather monotonous, one-dimensional music drama and enriched it with a full musical expression complementing a coherent dramatic experience, picking up the existing art of drama. With full justification, he can therefore be called the real founder of opera. Sound Format: PCM Stereo Picture Format: 4:3 DVD Format: DVD 9 / NTSC Subtitle Languages: IT (Original Language), DE, GB, FR, ES Running Time: 148 mins FSK: 0

Price: $28.98