Xerse

Covid-19 has silenced operas companies large and small, but the Baroque specialist group Ensemble OrQuesta makes a valiant attempt at Cavalli’s Xerse, even if essentially in concert form, and with one or two first-night technical hitches along the way.

Cavalli was Monteverdi’s successor as head of music at St Mark’s in Venice, but best remembered for a long sequence of operas he composed for Venetian theatres, and occasionally those abroad.

Telling the story of amorous and political conflicts surrounding the ancient Persian king, Xerse premiered in Venice in 1654, but the composer revived it in Paris in 1660 and it is that version the company presents. Anyone familiar with Handel’s Serse – based at one remove on the same libretto – will recognise the dramatic territory.

Musical standards are unfailingly high under the company’s founder Marcio da Silva, who directs from the harpsichord, stands up to sing the small role of Aristone, and even tackles the drums at one point for a battle scene.

Technical problems on streaming night meant starting again after the first 15 minutes, and there were quite a few minor sound dropouts.

But these could not disguise the expertise in the Baroque style offered by the small group of instrumentalists or the large number of principals – all vocally secure, and entering and exiting in the right places, as well as occasionally offering some gestures. It gave an idea what the company might achieve on stage and in better circumstances.

Forming an apt background was a gaunt and ghostly tree, which features in the plot, created by designer Christian Hey.

www.ensembleorquesta.com/xerse