London Coliseum 20 November 2013

Few modern operas have had three revivals within six years but ENO had no hesitation mounting a revival of Philip Glass Satyagraha. If anything, the work grows more impressive with familiarity, and the revival directors have certainly not lost any of its impact since the last time it was staged. Where the large puppets and the massively staged scenes caught the attention when first seen, it was the more reflective scenes that made a positive impression on this occasion. The simplicity of the Indian Opinion scene, with its swirling newsprint and a life lifting out of nothing was deeply moving, as was the gently authoritative burning of the identity cards.

Alan Oke returned as Gandhi, a part with which he is now almost synonymous, and his mellifluous tones convinced throughout. Sarah Pring made a strong impression as Mrs Alexander, one of the few scenes which had a direct narrative line. Phelim McDermott’s approach to the work seemed to some to be over-fussy when new in 2007 but it has aged well and lost none of its impact.

Musically Stuart Stratford held his forces together with skill, any tiny slips being rapidly mopped up in a score which has more pitfalls than a more conventional opera. The chorus were in fine form and are frequently required to create a sense of stillness and calm which is quite different from simply not moving – a feat which they brought off with aplomb.

There are five more performances – details from www.eno.org