It was a case of all things nocturnal when Australian Haydn Ensemble joined forces with highly acclaimed local baritone David Greco for a selection of arias, sonatas and concertos by Vivaldi, Telemann and Biber in a concert from the top shelf.

Led by Artistic Director Skye McIntosh, the six members of the Ensemble were in sparkling form for a programme that both moved and uplifted in equal measure. And if Greco was the star of the show, his co-star was undoubtedly Melissa Farrow, Australia’s finest Baroque flutist, who gave faultless performances of Vivaldi’s La Notte Concerto for Flute in G minor in the first half, and Johann Adolph Hasse’s B minor concerto in the second.

AHE Soloist Melissa Farrow. Photo © Oliver Miller

The first half started off in Italy – Venice, to be precise – with a set of instrumental and operatic pieces by Antonio Vivaldi, the Red Priest’s Concerto for strings in F major, making for a jaunty opening, with the lovely largo middle movement showcasing the talents of violinists McIntosh and Matthew Greco, the baritone’s brother. This was the AHE scaled down – violist Karen Schmitz, cellist Anton...