Jane Davidson, Director of the Victorian College of the Arts, likes to describe Handel’s Xerxes as the story of “an impulsive, vain and emotionally immature ruler”. 

Ring any bells? Let’s not jump to conclusions.

Davidson’s new production of Handel’s 1738 opera, presented in collaboration with the Victorian College of the Arts’ Design & Production department, arrives at the Malthouse at a time when just such a figure looms large in our daily headlines. She is wary of making overt contemporary political parallels, however.  The audience, she insists, is perfectly capable when it comes to joining the dots. 

“There’s never been any shortage of vain and impulsive rulers in the world. But what we’re really looking at is a group of characters who can’t see beyond themselves. Handel explores that with enormous humour and irony.”

Instead, Davidson explains, her focus is on the timeless qualities that have made one of Handel’s least successful operas into one of his most beloved – its mixture of satire, romance and emotion.

Set design visulaisation for Xerxes by Lochlan Maher, Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production), University of Melbourne.

First performed in London in 1738, the opera tells of the fifth century BCE Persian king who becomes infatuated with Romilda, who is in turn in love with Xerxes’ brother Arsamene. 

Around that central love triangle swirl disguises, mistaken identities, jealous lovers and comic servants before reconciliation eventually prevails. It also contains one of Handel’s most famous melodies, the opening aria “Ombra mai fu”, better known simply as Handel’s “Largo”. 

Rather than reconstructing ancient Persia, Davidson has relocated the story to the years immediately before the First World War, drawing inspiration from the technological optimism and social fluidity of the Belle Époque.

“We’ve leaned into the idea of Xerxes as an obsessive personality,” she explains. “He wasn’t only obsessed with getting his own way with women. Historically he was fascinated by engineering and technological innovation, so we’ve set it around the turn of the 20th century, where those kinds of obsessions feel entirely at home.” 

Research into photographs of Persia in the decades prior to WWI revealed striking similarities between its ruling and affluent classes and those of contemporary Europe’s, giving the designers fertile ground for costumes and staging that avoid orientalist cliché while creating a recognisable social world.

The setting also complements another aspect of the production: its relaxed approach to gender.

Like many Baroque operas, Xerxes was originally written for castrato singers. Modern productions routinely redistribute those roles between mezzo-sopranos, countertenors and tenors, but Davidson believes today’s audiences are especially receptive to opera’s longstanding tradition of fluid casting.

“With the students, the gender of the character and the gender of the performer aren’t necessarily the same thing,” she says. “Opera has always played with those conventions. Setting it in this period just makes that feel even more natural.” 

Davidson’s production is based on Nicholas Hytner’s English translation, first created for English National Opera, a deliberate choice designed to sharpen the comedy and clarify the drama for both performers and audiences.

“There’s an enormous amount of recitative,” Davidson says. “Doing it in English means the students really have to understand how language carries the momentum of the drama, not just the music.”

That educational focus sits at the heart of the Melbourne Conservatorium’s annual opera productions.

The principal singers each tackle multiple solo arias, navigating Handel’s famously intricate coloratura while sustaining dramatically convincing performances across more than two hours of music. Davidson regards the technical demands as invaluable preparation for professional careers.

“They have to sing florid passages with incredible accuracy,” she says. “At the same time, they have to communicate the meaning of every sentence. It’s wonderful training.” 

“wonderful training”

For musical director Donald Nicolson, rediscovering Xerxes alongside students has been equally rewarding.

“I probably wasn’t as familiar with Handel’s operas as I should have been,” he admits. “Coming back to Xerxes has been a joy.”

While cuts have streamlined the evening, Nicholson believes the essence of Handel’s score remains intact.

“What excites me most is working with students who are discovering historical performance practice for the first time. Their enthusiasm is infectious.”

That historical approach extends beyond style into instrumentation with Nicholson leading a compact ensemble comprising single strings, recorder, flute, oboe, bassoon, continuo keyboards and theorbo – forces close to those Handel himself would have recognised.

That intimacy presents challenges.

With only one player assigned to each string line, every musician performs as a soloist.

“There really is nowhere to hide,” Nicholson says.

“It’s wonderful training because everyone carries complete responsibility for their musical line.”

Donald Nicolson. Photo © Albert Comper

Many players are also adapting to period instruments and techniques, including performing without modern chin rests and navigating unfamiliar approaches to articulation, phrasing and ensemble balance.

For Nicholson, however, these practical challenges reveal the expressive richness of Handel’s writing.

“The orchestra is constantly in dialogue with the singers,” he says. “Sometimes a character sings half a phrase and the first violin answers, almost like you’re hearing their thoughts given musical form.”

One distinctive feature of the production further dissolves the barrier between music and theatre.

Rather than occupying a hidden orchestra pit, the ensemble will be fully visible as part of the set itself, integrated into the stage design.

“We’ll actually be part of the visual world,” Nicholson says.

While the musicians will not interact directly with the singers, their presence reflects Baroque practice, when orchestras were often visible participants in theatrical spectacle.

“It reminds everyone that the orchestra isn’t just accompanying,” Nicholson says. “They’re part of creating the whole experience.”

For Davidson, creating momentum is ultimately the production’s guiding principle.

“I hope audiences are gripped by the story,” she says. “I don’t want people feeling they’re simply watching recitative followed by aria, then another recitative and another aria. I want them to feel they’re being carried through the drama.”

Handel’s Xerxes is performed at the Malthouse Theatre, Southbank, Melbourne, from 2–5 September.