Monteverdi’s Ulisse, composed in 1640 for the Teatro San Cassiano in Venice , was to a libretto by Giacomo Badoardo after Homer’s Odyssey. Instantly, the opera became a great hit.
Monteverdi’s musical language reached a dramatic diversity here, reflecting the multiple entwined threads of the plot.
Since the publication of the Complete Edition by Gian Francesco Malipiero (1930) no score has been available on sale, although there have been numerous arrangements and adaptations. This situation with editions may be owing to the fact that, in comparison with Orfeo and Poppea, Ulisse has not been as frequently performed.
This may now change. With Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, Bärenreiter has begun publishing a series of new editions edited by the conductor and harpsichordist Rinaldo Alessandrini. The principles of these new editions are clearly defined: to remain as close to the original sources as possible, and to identify all editorial decisions. The scores contain a detailed foreword, which particularly addresses questions of performance practice. They also contain a critical edition of the libretto and a critical commentary , which describes the sources used as well as detailing all editorial decisions.