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.