A new autumn brings with it a new season from Vache Baroque, les nouveaux enfants terribles of Baroque opera. This year’s offering is André Campra’s 1699 opera-ballet “Le Carnaval de Venise,” which received its UK premiere 326 years overdue. Directed by James Hurley and conducted from the harpsichord by Vache’s cofounder Jonathan Darbourne, this production, styled as a “circus-opera,” brought a lean cast of nine singers and two circus artists to bear on a rare tent opera.

For the latest edition of BarTálk, music writer Madeleine Lay and theater writer and director Andrew Raynes discussed the performance over white wine in Baker Street’s Globe pub.

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… is a freelance arts writer based in Oxford, England.

… is a writer and theater maker based in London.