A bohemian rhapsody

As if obeying starter's orders, Charles Mackerras tore into the overture of The Bartered Bride at breakneck speed, punching out Smetana's decisive rhythms and generating fiery, taut playing from the excellent ROH orchestra.

Czech music is Mackerras's passion and this exuberant revival of Francesca Zambello's 1998 production proved the point and continued Covent Garden's celebration of the conductor's entry into his eighties.

The aural shock catapulted us into a work which can seem overlong and, in the wrong hands, unsure of its tone - more tragimawkish than comic, never a danger here.

In a wise move, Zambello has abandoned the original Czech text in favour of a witty English translation by Kit Hesketh Harvey, with subtitles too. The balance of words and music is thus restored and the opera reveals itself as far richer and funnier than some of us usually realise.

The mainly British cast was led by Susan Gritton as an ardent Marenka. Timothy Robinson handled the tricky role of Vasek, the hapless stammerer, with affection and assurance and deserved his big applause.

As Jenik, the New Zealand tenor Simon O'Neill made a winning house debut, secure in high notes, with an unaffected brightness of tone. The evergreen Robert Tear as the obsequious Ringmaster typified the quality of the supporting roles.

Whereas Glyndebourne's recent 1950s communist-era production stretched a point to expose the dark underside of this work, Zambello explores it at face value. The result is a great, bright show, complete with scenic folk dancing and a mesmerising circus of heroic aerobics - tumblers, clowns and jugglers; fire, danger and delight.

This worked for me and my usual urge to escape after the overture was entirely absent. Alison Chitty's cheerful designs and vivid green and gold nationalistic
costumes combined American ruralist hoe-down and Bohemian rhapsody. All took place in a giant minimalist shed and made for a literally barnstorming evening.

Until 20 January (020 7304 4000).

The Bartered Bride