First performed in 1731, Handel's Poro was a huge success in its day, though many today regard it with suspicion. Based on accounts of Alexander the Great's campaign in India, its values are those of the nascent British Empire.

Alessandro arrives on the subcontinent only to be drawn into local intrigues, as well as facing rebellion in his own ranks. Poro, the Indian king, is pathologically jealous of his wife Cleofide. Meanwhile, Timagene, a Macedonian general, believes Alessandro to be responsible for his father's death and sows the seeds of revolt among the conquered Indians.

The score is chiefly notable for its compression. Its austerities were emphasised, in this concert performance, by Emanuelle Haim's rigid conducting and by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra's clear, dark-hued playing. Toby Spence was a virile, vocally athletic Alessandro, flinging out his coloratura with ebullient ease. Sarah Fox's Cleofide hit just the right note of sensual languor to give Jane Irwin's Poro cause for suspicion. Irwin herself got off to a rough start, only striking form in Act II, by which time rival mezzo Christine Rice, as Poro's sister Erisenna, had gained vocal prominence. Tim Mirfin did much with little as Timagene, one of Handel's most ungrateful roles.

The weak link, however, was Robin Tyson as Poro's sidekick Gandarte. Handel wrote the role for a contralto in drag. It lies awkwardly for a counter-tenor, and Tyson struggled throughout.