Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria was premiered in Venice during the 1639–1640 carnival season. Claudio Monteverdi’s setting of a libretto by Giacomo Badoardo follows the latter portion of Homer’s Odyssey, from Ulysses’ arrival home from the Trojan Wars. King Ulisse finds a trio of suitors trying to woo his wife and queen, Penelope. With the help of the gods, his son Telemachus, and his faithful swineherd Eumete, Ulysses recovers his kingdom, his home, and his beloved wife.