Death wish

Anyone who thinks they have experienced absolute boredom, or even doubts that such a state can exist, should go to Glyndebourne’s first offering of the season, Cavalli’s Hipermestra. The first two acts, played without any break, last for 130 minutes, the third for a mere hour. The audience broke into its normal rapturous applause at the end, no doubt to reassure itself that it still existed. This opera of the inordinately productive Cavalli has been revived only once since its first outing in 1658, and I can only hope that its present resurrection is temporary and its second death final.

Arriving at Glyndebourne, we saw a couple of Arabian newlyweds strolling round the grounds, then another pair, then another, at which point my companion twigged that they were part of the act. The tiny orchestral ensemble, including its conductor and harpsichordist, William Christie, who in his article in the weighty programme book looks forward to a succession of Cavalli revivals in this setting, were similarly dressed in Arab costume, which didn’t prevent them from playing like angels, on or off the stage, nor from being treated like slaves — though Graham Vick, the producer, has of course updated the action to the present and the Middle East, so that the reflective Glyndebourne audience can dwell on its contemporary relevance. Not easy to summarise what that relevance is, considering the action concerns the 50 daughters of King Danao being required to marry his 50 nephews, and kill them all on their wedding night, since the oracle has warned him that one of the nephews is destined to kill him, Danao.

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Julie Burchill

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We see the married couples processing through the arch of balloons, Aida-style, as the opening music is played. Naturally, one of the daughters, Hipermestra, falls in love with her bridegroom Linceo, launching the three hours that follow.