Odysseus Reunites with Penelope in Monteverdi's Magnificent Finale
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
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Ulisse: Sven Olof-Eliasson
Penelope: Norma Lerer
Ericlea: Anne-Marie Mühle
Monteverdi: Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria: Act 3 Finale Dir. Nikolaus Harnoncourt, 1971
I remember reading on top of one of your videos...The timeless beauty of Monteverdi...
My brother would certainly agree with you.He is an authentic lover of his music...
I am afraid I'm only a lover of the Greek myth.With Penelope sewing and unsewing,expecting her husband to return from his battles.But otherwise I'm not a lover of this works and therefore I can't lie to you,my friend.Im sure many of your subscribers will be delighted with it.I definitely hope so.
All my love and respect ❤🎉
From the second of Nikolaus Harnoncourt's haunting and mesmerising recordings of the three surviving operas by Claudio Monteverdi. The conductor, who with his Concentus Musicus of Vienna was a pioneer of historically informed performance on period instruments, was the first interpreter to present Monteverdi's works in forms the composer would have recognised, and after intensive study of the composer's style had arrived at an approach that was dramatic, lyrical and idiomatic. He had surrounded himself with a singing group of 'the usual suspects' who were sympathetic to his aims: Rotraud Hansmann, Max van Egmond, Cathy Berberian, Kurt Equiluz, Paul Esswood, Nikolaus Simkowsky and many others. Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria, the 'sleeper hit' of the three works, is the ideal synthesis of the Renaissance madrigal-based approach of the earlier L'Orfeo, and the full-blown monody of L'incoronazione di Poppea, the Master's final work. Norma Lerer inhabits the part of the faithful and melancholy Penelope to perfection, with her darkly introverted voice; like Shakespeare's Cordelia 'ever gentle and low'. Mr Eliasson, who was seemingly hired for the resemblance of his vocal brawn to the bodybuilder heroes of 1960s Italian sword-and-sandal epics, is at any rate never less than adequate as Homer's beleaguered hero. An affecting excerpt that is a reminder of the achievements of three timeless geniuses: Homer, Monteverdi and Harnoncourt. Thank you, Manoli!
@@jasonhurd4379 yes indeed. And I am sure that Homer, who EXISTED and was a resident of CHIOS, contrary to the theories of several reductive, cynical, and malevolent “historians,” would be well-pleased with Monteverdi’s masterful setting of this final episode of his magnum opus.
@@jasonhurd4379 I should also add that its nice to hear Monteverdi’s setting of a truly happy ending. L’Orfeo’s is bittersweet and Poppea’s is ironic and cynical. The triumph of virtue and goodness at the end of this work allows for some of his most noble writing. In particular Penelope’s brief aria “Illustratevi o cieli” is miles better in context, with it representing her first joyful moment in twenty years. A nice ending for a beautifully written character.
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@@manolis.799Your point about the 'lieto fine' here is well taken. Illustratevi, o cieli is Monteverdi's most masterful portrayal of unclouded joy since the first act of L'Orfeo. The increasingly elaborate fiorituræ, the bright key of D major and the high tessitura relative to Penelope's other highlight moments are perfect indicators of her happiness at having her beloved husband home again. When I saw the work at San Francisco Opera many years ago, Frederica von Stade took her opportunity at this moment, during the brief instrumental ritornelli, to dance gracefully and solemnly in a circle round Odysseus. It was an enchanting and happy inspiration. I am also fond of the final scene in the Harnoncourt-Ponnelle film, in which Trudeliese Schmidt and Werner Hollweg, admittedly not the most vocally ingratiating exponents of the roles, stand facing each other, dressed in shining white robes and bedecked with flowery garlands, the perfect visual representation of their mutual, blissful love.