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Boston Baroque - Monteverdi: Ulisse - The Guardian

There are blood, guts and anguish aplenty in Monteverdi's 1640 opera, but a nuanced account should also portray the hurt and isolation of an ageing war veteran. The drama covers books 13-23 of Homer's Odyssey, in which the hero returns to his wife Penelope after 20 years' absence, slays her suitors and leaves us pondering how such a casually brutal act can sit alongside his noble image. Claudio Monteverdi's surviving manuscript is tantalisingly free-form - big holes in ensemble parts, bits and bobs added in footnotes, no fixed instrumentation - and conductor Martin Pearlman's edition for the Boston Baroque fills in the gaps diligently. This performance is technically solid with some fine playing from the orchestra.

The Guardian
09 April 2015