How is Homer’s Odyssey used in Claudio Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria?

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Strozzi, Bernardo: portrait of Claudio Monteverdi — Claudio Monteverdi Claudio Monteverdi, oil painting by Bernardo Strozzi, c. 1630; in the Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum, Innsbruck, Austria.

Claudio Monteverdi’s opera Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (1640), or "Ulysses’ Homecoming," draws its narrative directly from the final portion of Homer’s epic poem, the Odyssey.

The libretto for this work was written by Giacomo Badoaro, who adapted the classical source material to suit the operatic stage. As one of Monteverdi’s mature works composed during his time in Venice, the opera focuses on the conclusion of the hero's journey, depicting his return to his homeland and the reclamation of his household.1