is an opera in a

prologue A prologue or prolog (from Ancient Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier st ...

and two acts composed by Luigi Dallapiccola to his own

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

based on the legend of Ulysses. It premiered at the

Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the ...

(in German translation by Karl-Heinrich Kreith as ''Odysseus'') on 29 September 1968 conducted by

Lorin Maazel Lorin Varencove Maazel (; March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in t ...

with Erik Saedén in the title role. ''Ulisse'' was Dallapiccola's only full-length last opera and took eight years to compose. As in his previous one-act operas, '' Volo di notte'' and '' Il prigioniero'', his declared theme was "the struggle of man against some force much stronger than he".

Roles

* Ulisse –

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

( Erik Saedén) * Calypso /

Penelope Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or , ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Homer's Ithaca, Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius (Spartan), Icarius and ...

–

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

( Annabelle Bernard)Shirley, Wayne
"Luigi Dallapiccola's Sketch for ''Ulisse''"
The Moldenhauer Archives,

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Nausicaa Nausicaa (; , or , ), also spelled Nausicaä or Nausikaa, is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey''. She is the daughter of King Alcinous and Arete (mythology), Queen Arete of Scheria, Phaeacia. Her name means "burner of ships" ( 'ship'; 'to burn' ...

– soprano ( Catherine Gayer) * Re Alcinoo –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

( Victor von Halem) * Demodoco –

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

(Helmuth Melchert) *

Circe In Greek mythology, Circe (; ) is an enchantress, sometimes considered a goddess or a nymph. In most accounts, Circe is described as the daughter of the sun god Helios and the Oceanid Perse (mythology), Perse. Circe was renowned for her vast kn ...

–

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

( Jean Madeira) *La madre di Anticlea (mother of Anticlea) – soprano (

Hildegard Hillebrecht Hildegard Hillebrecht (26 November 1925 – 7 October 2018) was a German operatic soprano. Career Born in Hanover, Hillebrecht studied singing after attending medical school and made her in the role of Leonora in Verdi's '' Il trovatore''. She s ...

) * Tiresia – tenor (Helmuth Melchert) *Pisandro (a suitor) – baritone ( José van Dam) * Antinoo – baritone (Ernst Krukowski) * Eurimaco – tenor (Karl Ernst Mercker) * Melanto – mezzo-soprano (Jean Madeira) * Eumeo – tenor ( Loren Driscoll) * Telemaco –

contralto A contralto () is a classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice type, voice types. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare, similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to ...

( Barbara Scherler) *Ancella 1 (handmaid 1) – soprano (Gitta Mikes) *Ancella 2 (handmaid 2) – contralto (Helga Wisniewaska)

References

External links

"Libretto"
flaminioonline.it
"CD booklet"
Stradivarius STR 10063 (

, 1968), Naxos Music Library *, Orchestre philharmonique et chœr de Radio France, Ernest Bour, 6 May 1975; {{Authority control Operas by Luigi Dallapiccola Italian-language operas 1968 operas Operas Operas based on the Odyssey

Roles

References

Further reading

External links