★★★★★
In Monteverdi’s great Homeric opera the wandering Ulysses certainly returns, slaying Penelope’s feckless suitors and reclaiming his wife and his home — but does he stay? The most heart-rending moment in John Fulljames’s new staging comes right at the end, and I won’t spoil it by revelation. Suffice to say that it’s the most emotive use of a revolve-stage I have seen.
In fact, this enthralling show, jointly mounted by the Royal Opera and the Roundhouse, has two concentric revolves. Right at the centre of this massive Victorian space sits the orchestra of Christian Curnyn’s Early Opera Company: 15 fine players who caress the bare bones of Monteverdi’s score into wonderfully luscious, responsive accompaniments. They slowly revolve as the show progresses: a clever idea