London Coliseum, 19 October 2016

This is the second revival of Penny Woolcock’s production and it maintains the same balance of strengths and weaknesses as have been apparent on both previous occasions. The new soloists are strongly cast and the men are particularly impressive. Jacques Imbrailo as Zurga and Robert McPherson as Nadir impress in the act one duet, which is also well lit. Robert McPherson makes a great deal of his act one aria, floating the top line with ease.

Claudia Boyle may settle into Leila as the run develops but, while the voice is focused, much of her acting seems exaggerated. This worked well last year in Pirates but needs more subtlety for Bizet. James Creswell is a solid Naurabad and often quite sinister in his presence. Roland Boer handles the score with romantic aplomb from the pit, moving the narrative forward while allowing the soloists to enjoy their individual set pieces.

The chorus are in fine form but the production does not help. As I noted at the last revival, the set severely restricts the chorus movement so that the opening scene is both static and additionally is poorly lit. After the impressive diving scene at the start this is a real let-down, and visually the production does not pick up again until Leila appears on her tower and the sea comes in.

An musically worthy evening but I wish somebody had nudged the production values.