Constantly driven to new shores by elemental forces and erratic gods whilst always on the way home - the seafarer Ulysses has become the epitome of a human being on his adventurous life's journey. South African theatre and film artist William Kentridge brings Monteverdi's opera hero into the present. In a Johannesburg hospital Ulysses (played by a semi-life size puppet) is in mortal agony. His restless mind is tormented by visions and memories constantly asking: Where am I? What country am I in? What air am I breathing? What ground am I stepping on?

William Kentridge staged his ingenious interpretation of Monterverdi's masterpiece with the RICERCAR CONSORT and the HANDSPRING PUPPET COMPANY for the first time in 1998. The interplay between singers and puppets, enchantingly animated charcoal drawings and rapid movie sequences create an irresistible current of images drawing everyone into Ulysses' world. A journey through space and time: from ancient Greece via Monteverdi's Venice and 1990's South Africa into the innermost human core.

The 2016 version was produced by Quaternaire/Paris supported by the Asia Culture Center-Asian Arts Theater (Gwangju), the Lincoln Center White Light Festival (New York) and the Music Festival Potsdam Sanssouci.