Before Gluck embarked on his reform of opera that led to the purity and concision of Orfeo ed Euridice (1762), he wrote serious pieces full of elaborate display. Ezio was composed for Prague more than a decade before Orfeo and has some dazzling arias for the title role (here, the vivid Sonia Prina, Glyndebourne's Rinaldo this summer) and his lover, Fulvia (Ann Hallenberg). There are several anticipations of Gluck's purer idiom to come, the villain Massimo (Topi Lehtipuu) has a lovely pastoral aria, and there is a fine trio ensemble to end Act 2. Don't worry about the plot: the music is glorious.