There is much to admire in Daniel Slater's The Bartered Bride, updating Smetana's 19th-century peasant marriage market to edgier times, a century on during the Prague Spring.
The opening chorus, lustily delivered, is an enthralling set piece, laced with delicious irony - the liberated folk celebrate freedom and happiness in regimented rows. In the middle of it all, Anna Leese's Marenka makes a tryst with Peter Wedd's handsome and suitably soulful Jenik.
Their romance unfolds through some of the most tuneful music you'll hear in an opera house. Conductor Oliver von Dohnanyi and Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra inspire the cast by never losing the lilt and flow.
Conal Coad is a wily Kecal, a sinister marriage broker for new times. A master of canny characterisation, he is the dramatic kingpin of the evening, more convincing in buffo patter than in more sustained lines.
Marenka's family, led by Patricia Wright's Ludmila, starts its negotiations. Few singers could match Wright's essential warmth; it contrasts well with Helen Medlyn's Hata, the other in-law-to-be, making her entrance with a Maria Callas hairdo and a temper to match.
