It is not often these days that a production is both modern and highly sensitive to both the music and text of an opera. We have, over recent years, swung wildly between the excessively relevant and the pompously ‘authentic’, with neither feeling satisfactory in the theatre. Maybe it is Yoshi Oida’s ability to work within both traditional Japanese art forms and western music that makes him an ideal interpreter of Vaughan Williams’ rarely performed The Pilgrim’s Progress. The composer himself wanted a production that was spiritually alive and yet not specifically Christian. He would surely have been delighted by what Yoski Oida has created, particularly in the rituals and calm relationships which unfold slowly before us. It might not have the length of Parsifal but there is an intensity about the flow of the music which is far closer to Wagner than the pastoral English scene which the narrative often conjures up.

Tom Schenk sets the story within a prison where the warders and prisoners could be somewhere in Eastern Europe or Asia but the drabness of clothing and harshness of the prison doors and bars is a constant reminder of the reality of this dream. Bunyan is in prison throughout, and even if he reaches the Celestial City we are all well aware that this is not an escape so much as a vision of the spiritual life in the midst of an oppressive and often violent world. The sections of the set move with ease to create different environments and heights, allowing for smooth transitions and easy access for chorus and soloists. The introduction of the electric chair during the Vanity Fair scene is startling and effective, particularly when it becomes the focus of the final scene. That the text is frequently at odds with the visual image works extremely well. This is no updated juxtaposition, where Siegfried carries a sawn-off shotgun, but a world where the Pilgrim has a spiritual life which allows him to see through the immediate to the eternal. There is a fine moment when the three shepherds of the delectable mountain appear as priest, judge and doctor come to escort Pilgrim to his execution. What we see is banal and prosaic, but what Pilgrim is hearing is uplifting and profound. It is a wonderful concept and beautifully created.

The very large cast are fully committed to the work in a way which conveys no sense of cynicism or world-weariness. At its heart is Roland Wood as Pilgrim, looking like a worker who has managed to upset his boss rather than Everyman, but this is apt both to the work and this production. Timothy Robinson and Benedict Nelson make an individual impact, but there are no obvious weak links. Smaller parts flow in and out of the chorus, who are used as much as witnesses to Pilgrim as to commentators on the action.  Martyn Brabbins allows the score to unfold with great delicacy and has a particularly good ear for detail. It would be good to think the performance might be recorded both on CD and DVD. It deserves to be remembered. BH

Until Nov 28. Tickets: 020 7845 9300