A cash-cow with class

David McVicar's gripping production of Verdi's Rigoletto created a sensation when it first appeared in 2001. Now on its second revival, it proves that the sensationalism also translates into the solid durability that every opera house needs in its core repertoire. To put it bluntly, it's a cash-cow with class.

Revival director Leah Hausman makes a few changes which help keep things feeling fresh. The Duke's orgy is wilder and nastier than ever, for example, and Rigoletto's daughter Gilda is cruelly teased by her abductors before they drag her off. (Previously they carried her off quickly over someone's shoulder.)

The casting is luxurious. Paolo Gavanelli (pictured) brings an electrifying energy and largerthan-life presence - just the right side of ham - to the role of the hunchbacked jester who mistakenly kills the one person who loves him. Glamorous superstar soprano Anna Netrebko is Gilda, his victim.

If there's a lack of clarity in one or two of her phrases, it doesn't stop the overall performance being a tremendous achievement. Tenor Piotr Beczala brings a fine, heroic sound to the role of Gilda's shallow, fickle lover. And Edward Downes, who has been conducting Verdi for 54 years, creates a blazing furnace of excitement in the orchestra pit.

The opera will be relayed live to a big screen in Covent Garden Piazza on Tuesday June 21.

Until Jul 13, Royal Opera House, Bow Street WC2, various times, £7 to £160 (limited availability). Tel: 020 7304 4000.

www.royalopera.org. Tube: Covent Garden

Rigoletto