Homer's epic tale of Ulysses's return from the Trojan War provides the story for this heady 17th-century opera by Claudio Monteverdi. Our hero (Thomas Allen) struggles to get home to his wife, Penelope (Kathleen Kuhlmann), unaware that she's being pursued by three potential suitors. Throughout Ulysses's journey, the gods of ancient Greece intercede to reunite the couple. Hans Werner Henze conducts this performance from the 1985 Salzburg Festival.