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Monteverdi: Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria / Pearlman, Boston Baroque

Monteverdi / Boston Baroque / Pearlman Release Date: 05/12/2015
Label: Linn Records Catalog #: 451 Spars Code: n/a
Composer:  Claudio Monteverdi Performer:  Christopher Lowrey ,  Joao Fernandes ,  Sonja DuToit Tengblad ,  Sara Heaton  ...  Conductor:  Martin Pearlman Orchestra/Ensemble:  Boston Baroque Number of Discs: 3
Recorded in: Stereo Length: 2 Hours 56 Mins.

"Martin Pearlman has made his own edition of Monteverdi's penultimate surviving opera, to my mind a more emotionally wrenching piece than either Orfeo (1607) or L'incoronazione di Poppea (1643). ... The strength of this issue is in its strong, youthful cast. The Penelope of Jennifer Rivera almost shakes my allegiance to Jacobs's Bernarda Fink, with a limpid low mezzo of comparable beauty and expressive power, while Fernando Guimaraes's Ulysses is heartbreaking in the moving recognition scene with Aaron Sheehan's boyish Telemachus and Daniel Auchincloss's devoted Eumaes. Leah Wool (Minerva), Marc Molomot (Irus), Krista River (Eurycleia), Abigail Nims (Melantho), and Christopher Lowrey (Human Frailty) all make outstanding Read more contributions." – The Sunday Times (London)

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Il ritorno d'Ulisse is unquestionably one of the three pillars that place Monteverdi among the greatest of opera composers; this recording marks the premiere of a new performing version by Martin Pearlman.

Portuguese tenor and baroque specialist Fernando Guimarães stars in the title role, alongside the internationally renowned mezzo-soprano Jennifer Rivera as his loving wife Penelope. Il ritorno d'Ulisse was a relatively recent discovery, but following its authentication in the 1950s and revivals in Vienna and Glyndebourne, the opera has enjoyed new found popularity. Martin Pearlman's new performing version benefits from the same attention to detail that has ensured his reputation as a leading champion of period performance. His highly considered approach to all aspects of the score and performance ensure this version is true to Monteverdi's original vision. With a libretto drawing from Homer's Odyssey, Il ritorno d'Ulisse is a riveting human drama with an enviable cast.
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