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Press Releases
Linn Records Releases Premiere Recording of Pearlman's New Performance Version of Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria with Boston Baroque
Pearlman, a leader in period performances, has taken care to ensure that his new performance version remains true to the captivating and dramatic work from 1640, one of only three Monteverdi operas in existence today.
The recording is distributed in the U.S. by Naxos, and will be released May 12, 2015, with digital distribution available on May 5.
Based on the latter portion of Homer's Odyssey, Monteverdi's opera focuses on how, after Ulisse's ten-year journey home from the Trojan Wars, upon returning home, finds that vile suitors have taken over his kingdom and are pressuring his faithful wife Penelope to believe he is dead and marry one of them. With advice from the goddess Minerva, and help from the loyal Eumete and his son, Ulisse defeats the suitors and regains his wife and kingdom.
Recorded at the acoustically acclaimed Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts in April 2014, following successful premiere performances in Massachusetts, the CD features an accomplished cast of singers: tenor Fernando Guimaraes in the title role; mezzo-soprano Jennifer River as Ulisse's (Ulysses's) wife Penelope; tenor Aaron Sheehan as Ulisse's son Telamaco (Telemachus); mezzo-soprano Leah Wool as Minerva; bass, Joao Fernandes as Tettuno (Teptune); tenor Owen McIntosh as Giove (Jupiter); soprano Sonja Dutoit Tengblad as Giunone (Juno); mezzo-soprano Krista River as Ericlea (Eurycleia), Penelope's old nurse; mezzo-soprano Abigail Nims as Melanto (Melantho), Penelope's young maid; tenor Daniel Shirley as Eurimaco (Eurymachus), Melantho's lover; tenor Daniel Auchincloss as Eumete (Eumaeus), a loyal swineherd; tenor Marc Molomot as Iro (Irus), a parasite, and tenor Jonas Budrisas Anfinomo (Amphinomus).
Penelope's suitors are sung by Mr. McIntosh as Pisandro (Peisander) and tenor Ulysses Thomas as Antinoo (Antinous); the Phaeacian sailors are sung by Mr. Budris, countertenor Christopher Lowrey, and Mr. Thomas. The Coro in Cielo (Choir in Heaven) is sung by soprano Sara Heaton, Ms. Tengblad, Mr. Molomot, and Mr. Shirley; and the Coro Marittimo (Choir of the Sea) by Mr. Lowrey, Mr. Budris, Mr. Auchincloss, and Mr. Thomas.
(For the complimentary download of Mr. Pearlman's talk on the new performance version of Ulisse, as well as to read his comments on the work, please visit:
http://www.linnrecords.com/recording-Monteverdi-Il-ritorno-d-Ulisse-in-patria.aspx
"...I have the feeling this is destined to become known as the standard version on this haunting Renaissance gem." -The Hub Review (performance review, May 1, 2014)
Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria
Linn Records (CKD451)
Boston Baroque
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Opera in a prologue and three acts
Libretto by Giacomo Badoaro (1602-1654)
A new performing version by Martin Pearlman
About Martin Pearlman
Vibrant, richly detailed performances, sophisticated interpretative skills and an evocative command of various composers and styles are a few of the hallmarks of esteemed American conductor Martin Pearlman. An international conductor known for his crisp communicative skills, Pearlman is also a highly regarded scholar, composer and an acclaimed three-time Grammy-nominated recording artist. Founder and music director of the Boston Baroque, Mr. Pearlman enjoys an active guest conducting career on both the opera and orchestral stages.
Among the orchestras and opera companies that Mr. Pearlman has appeared with are Minnesota Orchestra, Omaha Symphony, Alabama Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Springfield Symphony (Massachusetts), New World Symphony, National Arts Center Orchestra of Ottawa, The Washington Opera, Utah Opera, Opera Columbus, and Boston Lyric Opera, to name a few.
Martin Pearlman founded the first permanent Baroque orchestra in North America with Boston Baroque in 1973-74. Since then, he has led the Boston, Massachusetts-based ensemble in numerous American and world period-instrument premieres of operas, choral, and instrumental works, including Mozart operas and major works of Bach, Beethoven, Handel, Monteverdi and Rameau. In addition to directing Boston Baroque in its annual subscription series, he has taken the ensemble on tour nationally and in Europe, and has made over 22 recordings for Telarc International, three of which have been Grammy nominated, cementing the organization’s reputation as America’s premiere period-instrument orchestra. Mr. Pearlman and the Boston Baroque, as of 2012, became the first American orchestra to record with the UK label Linn Records.
Pearlman is the only conductor from the period-instrument field to have performed live on the internationally televised Grammy Awards show.
In addition to prepared new performing versions of Monteverdi's operas Il ritorno d'Ulisse and L'incoronazione di Poppea, Mr. Pearlman has also edited a new critical edition of Armand-Louis Couperin's complete keyboard works, and created a new orchestration and edition of Cimarosa's Il maestro di cappella.
"an inventive conductor with an ear for color, balance and placement"-The New York Times
"Pearlman really knows what he wants to hear and how to get it, and that's a lithe, fleet, transparent, ebullient, dancing performance." -Boston Globe
Just back from a tour in Poland, Martin Pearlman closes Boston Baroque's 2014-15 season with Handel's Agrippina starring soprano Susanna Philips in the title role and countertenor David Hansen as Agrippina's son Nerone April 24 and 25, 2015 at Boston's Jordan Hall. Pearlman leads Boston Baroque this coming 2015-16 season in an exciting series that includes Vivaldi's only surviving oratorio, Judith Triumphans; the always much anticipated Handel Messiah; Vivaldi's beloved Four Seasons; works by Beethoven, including the Fifth Symphony, and Mozart's The Magic Flute.
Press Contact:
Laura Grant
Publicist for conductor Martin Pearlman
Grant Communications, New York, NY
T: 917.359.7319; Laura@Grant-Communications.com
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