Based on a libretto by Giovanni Badoero from Homer's Odyssey, with this work, Claudio Monteverdi reached his maturity style, characterized by greater realism in the design of the characters and also by a greater disenchantment with life, although it confers a special humanity to the loving relationship between the main hero and his wife, the maximum example of fidelity.

Like other scores by the author, the work has fascinated quite a number of composers, some of whom have edited the work for their performance. Perhaps the most celebrated of all was Hans Werner Henze, with a fantasy-filled performance that was presented at the Salzburg Festival in 1985.

This representation, with musical direction by William Christie and stage direction by Pier Luigi Pizzi, features as protagonist the baritone Kobie van Rensburg, at the forefront of a cast that also includes such prominent names as Christine Rice, Umberto Chiummo and Marina Rodríguez-Cusí.

With the collaboration of Naxos