Articles not Written: Orliński and Monteverdi in Ravenna

Grant Chu Covell

[July 2026.]

Another planned article was a review of two concerts heard in Ravenna in 2024. Part of the Ravenna Festival’s Trilogia d’Autunno, on November 17, 2024, Jakub Józef Orliński, countertenor, and Il Pomo d’Oro offered their program “Beyond.” On the next day, we caught Pier Luigi Pizzi’s production of Monteverdi’s Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria (1640).

“Beyond” in Ravenna pretty much aligned to Orliński and Il Pomo d’Oro’s 2023 recording of the same name, which mixes solo arias and instrumental interludes.

The digital program offered the afternoon’s details, which I had started to format for inclusion: Claudio MONTEVERDI: “E pur io torno qui” from L’incoronazione di Poppea (1643); Voglio di vita uscir (1630). Biagio MARINI: Passacalio from Per ogni sorte di strumento musicale, Op. 22 (1655). Giulio CACCINI: “Amarilli, mia bella” from Le nuove musiche (1601). Girolamo FRESCOBALDI: “Così mi disprezzate?” from Primo libro d’arie musicali (1630). Johann Kaspar KERLL: Sonata for Two Violins in F major (ca. 1680-88). Barbara STROZZI: “L’amante consolato” from Cantate, ariette e duetti, Op. 2 (1651). Francesco CAVALLI: “Incomprensibil nume” from Pompeo Magno (1666). Carlo PALLAVICINO: Sinfonia from Demetrio (1666). Giovanni Cesare NETTI (1649-1686) “Misero core,” “Si, si, si scioglia si,” “Dolcissime catene” from La Filli (1682). Antonio SARTORIO: “La certezza di sua fede” from Antonino e Pompeiano (1677). Giovanni Cesare NETTI: “Quanto più la donna invecchia,” “Son vecchia, patienza” from L’Adamiro (1681). Adam JARZEBSKI: Tamburetta from Canzoni e concerti (1627). Sebastiano MORATELLI: “Lungi dai nostri cor” from La faretra smarrita (1690).

Marini’s elegant Passacalio was heartbreaking. Orliński overacted appropriately for the second Netti group where he played an old lady (I could be mixing up the order). There were encores, which I think were from the recording. Orliński, the breakdancing countertenor, hammed it up whenever he could. He is agile and a great entertainer, but his voice can be thin and disappointingly uniform. Il Pomo d’Oro was magnificent. They looked like they were having so much fun. I would travel to hear them again.

I approached Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria with an open mind. Accademia Bizantina led by Ottavio Dantone supported the Monteverdi. The opera requires a large cast, but Pizzi’s uncluttered set and straightforward costuming clarified personas and their actions. Penelope sat at a white loom. The three suitors were dressed similarly in black and lit into their roles. Other characters appeared in primary colors.

A big star of the Ravenna Festival is the Teatro Alighieri. I had quite forgotten how wonderful such candy-box-sized theaters can be. I know I should be lucky that I have attended operas at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, but music in a smaller space can be divine. We sat on the floor for Orliński, and moved around for the Monteverdi (some of the fancy boxes have zero sight lines, and the house manager was very accommodating).

For completeness, here’s Il Pomo d’Oro’s roster from the program: Alfia Bakieva, Margherita Pupulin (vln), Giulio D’Alessio (vla), Rodney Prada (viola da gamba), Ludovico Minasi (vlc), Jonathan Alvarez (cbs), Miguel Rincon (archlute, guit), Alberto Gaspardo (org, clav), Margherita Burattini (hrp), Pietro Modesti (cornetto).

The story behind Il Pomo d’Oro’s name is worth a detour: The ensemble takes its name from the opera composed by Antonio Cesti intended for the 1666 Viennese wedding festivities of Emperor Leopold I of Austria and Margarita Teresa of Spain. She was 15, and the celebrations capped the union between the Austrian and Spanish Hapsburg houses. The opera concluded a two-year imperial celebration including fireworks and a ballet with 300 horses. Il Pomo d’Oro apparently had 24 different stage sets with special effects such as collapsing towers, flying gods, elephants and sinking ships. It was probably the most excessive and expensive operatic production up until that time.

Here is the Monteverdi cast: Mauro Borgioni, Charlotte Bowden, Robert Burt, Luca Cervoni, Jorge Navarro Colorado, Valerio Contaldo, Žiga Čopi, Delphine Galou, Candida Guida, Gianluca Margheri, Paola Valentina Molinari, Chiara Nicastro, Danilo Pastore, Federico Domenico Eraldo Sacchi, Margherita Maria Sala and Arianna Vendittelli.

And here is the Accademia Bizantina: Alessandro Tampieri, Sara Meloni, Lisa Ferguson, Maria Grokhotova, Ana Liz Ojeda, Mauro Massa, Heriberto Delgado (vln), Marco Massera, Alice Bisanti (vla), Emanuele Abete, Paolo Ballanti (vlc), Nicola Dal Maso (violone), Cristiano Contadin (bass viol), Tiziano Bagnati (theorbo), Fabiano Merlante (lute, guit), David Brutti, Pietro Modesti (cornet, recorder), Flora Papadopoulos (harp), Valeria Montanari (org), Ottavio Dantone (hpsi, cond.).

[Orliński image from the Ravenna Festival’s Trilogia d’Autunno Novembre 2024 booklet, ©Honorata Karapuda; Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria image from the same booklet, ©Zani-Casadio.]