Monteverdi’s Ulysses could be considered the first psychological drama in the history of opera. Monteverdi plays with contrasting states of consciousness and develops an irresistible musical language through which he reveals human, subtle, and believable characters. By combining the rhetoric of the early Baroque with a contemporary physicality, David Stern and Anne Nguyen invite the audience to experience Ulysses in a new and powerful way.

Anne Nguyen portrays Ulysses as the bearer of the torments and scars associated with war. To reclaim his name, his history, his family role, and his place in society, the war leader must trade his identity for that of the eternal migrant, a victim of the whims of the powerful. Ulysses’ return to his homeland will only be possible if he acquires the moral discernment that will allow him to reconcile the multiple layers of reality upon which power is shaped.

The set design is built around the symbol of the bridge, a place of transcendence and transition, and the gradual unveiling of the cargo of a shipping container, an emblem of migration. From jet-set-style gods to the suitors as heads of state, the singers of Opera Fuoco embody the turbulent relationships between characters representing modern power. Alongside them, the powerful dance of three breakdancers exalts the will of the gods and the passions of the human soul.

Faced with oblivion and alienation, it is by asserting himself as a master, as a father, and then as the guardian of justice and moral order that Ulysses will finally be able to regain full possession of his inner self and restore his ability to act freely in the world.