Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria - Kasarova - Di misera regina

Penelope's lamentation from Claudio Monteverdi's 'Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria' (The Return of Ulysses to His Homeland), based on 'The Odyssey' by Homer. Penelope, who has been waiting for her husband for 20 years already, laments her cruel fate and her loneliness.

A fragment of the Zurich Opera performance conducted by Nicholaus Harnoncourt. The full video is available on the Arthaus Musik DVD.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Monteverdi
• Il
• Ritorno
• d'Ulisse
• Vesselina
• Kasarova
• Harnoncourt
• Penelope
• Di
• misera
• regina

[rrreverb]

Wow. I've never actually enjoyed Monteverdi before... I thought I was listening to the wrong material, but it seems like I was listening to the wrong singers ! This woman's talent is mind-blowing. Thank you so much for sharing !

[Arashi110]

My pleasure! Check out her other videos, especially Mozart ones.

[SDCmorg]

Hey, good pick, Arashi! I couldn't believe how at ease she is in the extreme low passages when I first saw this almost 2 yrs ago (had only heard her doing the Bellini and Rossini roles before and thought her a Falcon soprano).

It's a great performance of the opera, ay? All the main roles are stellarly sung. Thanks for posting! :o)

[Arashi110]

Personally, I think the role of Penelope was written for contralto. Surely not every mezzo is able to sing these bottoms. But Frau Kasarova... ah, I'd better shut up or I'll be way out of 500 letters. ^__^

Yes, the performance was great. A stellar cast indeed, I ca't even pick up whom I like most.

[shaolintl]

Thank you! She is wonderful in Monteverdi too!!! The most talented in our generation.. I live in Vienna and here are so many bulgarian singers, which are in my opinion the best in the world!

[Horusdragon]

That recording is amazing. Richard Stilwell and von Stade are a wonderful pair

[thebarroque]

My friend Check out the version that I've posted with Gloria Banditelli and Ensemble Elyma of this wonderful lament, Gabriel Garrido Conduct's Monteverdi as nobody have done it before =).

Brava Kasarova!

[asisecanta]

Let me say that I don't tbink this should be how to play Monteverdi, even if the result is beautiful. Hartnoncourt uses too many instruments, in a quite old-fashioned way of perform this music (the same way he used in the 70s when he recorded the trilogy with Ponnelle, but 35 years later). Check how Minkowski, Jacobs or Christie play this music (in a much more "nude" way) in order to see the diference.

Kasarova isn't a true Monteverdian singer neither, even if the whole result is beautiful.

[cantanteporsiempre]

but... i think Frederica Von Stade was one of the bests Penelopes or am i mistaken? she was a liryc mezzo

[MBWoland]

Simply exquisite! Good post! :)

[SDCmorg]

Yup, and such control she has with her voice right down there. That Monteverdi wrote some touchy music for the low voices! I'm sorry they cut a few scenes, but it's a long work. :o) I think she's due to sing Penelope again this year or the next.