There is strength at all levels in the large cast that ENO has assembled for the revival of Der Rosenkavalier that launches its new season - company stalwarts alongside young debut artists. The only problem is the perennial one - the singers' words don't always come across through the thick orchestral scoring. Paul Daniel is conducting this work for the first time, but he launched into the exuberant opening bars with a gusto that belied this. His account of the score was well paced, sumptuous and stylish, and will surely only get better throughout the run.
Hoffmansthal called his libretto a "comedy for music", yet in Jonathan Miller's staging the most enduring impressions the work leaves are of wistfulness and decline. Miller's production, revived for the second time by David Ritch, moves the action to the time at which the opera was written, a few years before the first world war. It's a far cry from the original setting of 1740s Vienna, but still encapsulates the end of an era. And everywhere this era is in decay. A hint of grubbiness sullies the off-white walls of Peter J Davison's spacious sets; pictures are left unhung and floors are unswept. Jean Kalman's lighting (revived by Tom Mannings) floods the stage with the warm yet slightly unreal glow that occurs just before a summer sunset, casting lengthening shadows across the floor. The Marschallin fears the evening of her life, but the society in which she moves is decaying faster than she.
Indeed, the production's wistful feel owes much to the stage presence of its Marschallin, with Yvonne Kenny returning to the role that has brought her much acclaim. Her lustrous soprano is near ideal for it - on Saturday a hint of harsh ness crept in at the top of her range, but this didn't detract from her poignant portrayal of an unhappy woman feeling betrayed by the passing of time. First seen lying on crumpled sheets with her 17-year-old lover, she transformed herself into the epitome of dignity in a moment - the polar opposite of her cousin, the blundering Baron Ochs, sung in a hugely entertaining performance by Stephen Richardson. Susan Parry's Octavian was also something special. Her bright mezzo suits trouser roles like this, and hers was a convincing portrayal, right down to the arrogant, boyish swagger.
Linda Richardson sang her first Sophie with poise and grace. Smaller roles and cameos were fleshed out for maximum interest, comic or otherwise. But, though enjoyable, this is a darker Rosenkavalier: for all its comedy, the production glows rather than glitters.
• Till September 25. Box office: 0171-632 8300.
