While Monteverdi’s The Return of Ulysses might be something of a neglected sibling when compared to his The Coronation of Poppea and Orfeo, its intimate scale and complex emotional landscape makes it every bit as worth seeing as those more dazzling, big-boned works. And in this skilfully realised production from Pinchgut Opera, which represents the completion of its Monteverdi survey, Ulysses is shown to be a very rich piece indeed.

Fernando Guimarães and Catherine Carby in Pinchgut Opera’s Ulysses. Photos © Brett Boardman

Returning to the company after last season’s Artaserse, director Chas Rader-Shieber doesn’t shy away from the work’s preoccupation with enduring love and constancy, unfashionable themes though they may be. Though Giacomo Badoaro’s libretto tends to flatten out or tame the spikier, more compelling aspects of the characters that populate Homer’s Odyssey, Rader-Shieber takes care to add nuance where possible. One such example is the production’s treatment of Ulysses, who is shown to be an ageing war veteran underneath the wily, cocksure exterior. Another is the intelligent handling of Penelope, whose steadfastness here feels naturally established rather than a blunt translation of the source...