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Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (SV 325, The Return of Ulysses to his Homeland) is an opera set by Claudio Monteverdi (pictured) to a libretto by Giacomo Badoaro. The work was first performed at the Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice during the 1639–1640 carnival season. The story, taken from the second half of Homer's Odyssey, tells how constancy and virtue are ultimately rewarded, treachery and deception overcome.
After its initial successful run in Venice the opera was performed in Bologna before returning to Venice for the 1640–41 season. The music became known in modern times through the 19th century discovery of an incomplete manuscript score. After its publication in 1922 the score's authenticity was widely questioned, but by the 1950s the work was generally accepted as Monteverdi's, and after revivals in Vienna and Glyndebourne in the early 1970s it became increasingly popular. (Full article...)