Reinventing the semi-opera: Vache Baroque collaborates with Out of Chaos to turn The Tempest into an evening of fun, modern theatre

The Tempest (the masque in Part Two) – Vache Baroque (Photo: The Photography Shed)

The Tempest – Shakespeare, Matthew Locke, Henry Purcell & others; Tim Delap, Leah Haile, Hannah Barrie, Tré Medley, Stephanie Hershaw, Isabelle Peters, Camilla Seale, Conor Prendiville, Ross Cumming, director: Paul O’Mahony, Vache Baroque, musical director: Jonathan Darbourne; Vache Baroque at The Vache
Reviewed 6 September 2026

An engaging reinvention of the semi-opera provides a vividly engaging evening in the theatre though without solving all the genre’s inherent problems, but with a stunning versatile and engaged cast.

The Tempest – Stephanie Hershaw (Ariel) – Vache Baroque  (Photo: The Photography Shed)

Fully sung opera never seemed to stick in Restoration England. During the Interregnum, fully sung operas had been produced in lieu of plays to get around government restriction. But after the Restoration, with the vibrant springing to life of the playhouses, opera never flourished. A French opera company under the direction of Robert Cambert, in 1674, though sponsored by the king proved short-lived. What was popular, however, was the semi-opera (what was called dramatick-opera at the time), a strange combination of spoken play and music. The first ones arose in the early 1670s with music often by Matthew Locke, and then Purcell would famously be involved. Semi-operas were produced with some regularity from 1673 (Macbeth) to 1712 (The Tempest). [See my article The Invention of English Opera]

Few modern opera companies essay the semi-opera genre in its entirety, though Glyndebourne did so with The Fairy Queen some years ago, and King Arthur occasionally makes an appearance. For a modern audience, the form is unwieldy with its mix of spoken drama along with music, yet the leading characters do not sing. Allied to this the original semi-operas would have had spectacular (i.e. expensive) sets.

For its Summer opera festival, Vache Baroque at The Vache bravely decided to collaborate with Out of Chaos theatre company to present a semi-opera version of The Tempest inspired by the production of The Tempest performed in 1674 (with libretto by Thomas Shadwell after John Dryden and William Davenant’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest and music by Matthew Locke, Giovanni Battista Draghi and Pelham Humfrey).

Vache Baroque’s version was directed by Paul O’Mahony (artistic director of Out of Chaos) with Jonathan Darbourne as musical director. They chose to base their version directly on Shakespeare and to the music by Locke, added pieces by Purcell, Pelham Humphrey, John Weldon, Dowland, Thomas Morley, Robert Johnson, Kapsberger, Couperin and Marais.

The company featured the actors Tim Delap (Prospero), Leah Haile (Miranda), Hannah Barrie (Caliban), Tré Medley (Ferdinand) and Dom Swain (Sebastian), and the singers Stephanie Hershaw, soprano (Ariel), Isabelle Peters, soprano (Alonso), Camilla Seale, mezzo-soprano (Stephano), Conor Prendiville, tenor (Antonio), and Ross Cumming, baritone, (Trinculo).

Jonathan Darbourne directed an ensemble of nine from the harpsichord – Naomi Burrell and Christiane Eidsten Dahl, violins, Charlotte Fairbairn, viola, Gavin Kibble, bass violin/viola da gamba, Carina Cosgrave, bass, Oohagh Lee and Joel Raymond, oboes/recorders, Toby Carr, theorbo/lute/guitar, Louise Anna Duggan, percussion.

Designs were by Caitlin Mawhinney, choreography by Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster, and lighting by Ben Pickersgill. The performers (actors, singers, instrumentalists) all used microphones and the sound included work by sound artist Dan Samsa that used found noises as a backdrop to evoke the isle being full of noises.

I am unfamiliar with the Shadwell/Dryden/Davenant text for The Tempest , butI suspect that it would have created rather more excuses for musical display in the form of masques interpolated into the action (as with The Fairy Queen). As it was, the music was applied to songs for Ariel and the comic figures, Stephano and Trinculo plus occasional moments when the vocal ensemble sang something commenting such as the end of Part One when Prospero blesses Ferdinand and Miranda’s union. The largest masque-like insertion was in Part Two with Ferdinand and Miranda’s wedding, whilst the vocal ensemble sang a touching final number at the end after Prospero resigned his powers.

Semi-opera remains a challenge and in Part One it was nearly half an hour before anyone sang, though Darbourne and his ensemble used instrumental music as a commentary on the action too. Also, the musicians took part in the action making this very much a dynamic ensemble piece. All concerned were hard-working, with Darbourne doubling as musical director and Gonzalo, and soprano Isabelle Peters taking the non-singing role of Alonso with tenor Conor Prendiville in the non-singing role of Antonio.

Frankly, Part One felt a little undercooked, as if we were seeing a cut-price version of The Tempest with a few songs and I wondered whether using the original text might have been better. Also, the sound design meant that in the relatively intimate confines of the tent used for performance, the actors felt over-amplified, and you sensed they hardly need microphones at all. The result was Part One felt a bit shouty.

Things came together in Part Two, partly because of the extended masque featuring Cupid (Stephanie Hershaw), Bacchus (Ross Cuming) and ensemble (Isabelle Peters, Camilla Seale and Conor Prendiville). Also, this part featured more musico-dramatic events in the play. Stephanie Hershaw as Ariel got the lions share of the work, and she proved an attractive, engaging and highly active Ariel. The other singers also provided backdrop to moments like the fake feast, but the instrumentalists got in on the action when tormenting Trinculo (Cumming) and Stephano (Hershaw).

Tim Delap made a compelling and rather fierce Prospero, though his final speeches were touching. Leah Haile and Tré Medley made an engaging pairing as Miranda and Ferdinand, with Hannah Barrie almost making you feel sorry for Caliban. What the production did was subtly highlight the way Prospero imposed himself on others. Isabelle Peters made a striking and rather moving Alonso, with fine support from Dom Swain (Sebastian), Conor Prendiville (Antonio) and Jonathan Darbourne (Gonzalo).

The Tempest – Camilla Seale (Stephano), Ross Cumming (Trinculo) – Vache Baroque (Photo: The Photography Shed)

This was an evening of fun, modern theatre, reinventing the semi-opera form for today and performing it almost in the round (audience on three sides) with the sort of physical theatre that made for an engaging performance. The way everybody did everything (though only Hannah Barrie’s Caliban sang) was impressive, though I feel that they missed a trick by not finding a suitable musical vehicle for the entire company to sing at the end.