Review: Rusalka ***

There are two essential weaknesses in Opera North's revival production of Dvorak's Bohemian fantasy opera about an unhappy water nymph who falls in love with a mortal prince.

One is Rodney Blumer's English translation (done for a 1986 film version) which labours in vain to communicate the poetic subtleties of Jarolslav Kvapil's libretto.

The other is the uneasy transformation of the magical forest world of mythical woodland sprites, goblins and witches into a clinical NHS department.

Dvorak poured some of his richest music into these scenes set among the dense foliage of trees and hidden pools to conjure up a supernatural atmosphere, which was lost among the ice boxes and hospital trolleys.

Giselle Allen's lead performance is magnificent, well supported by Richard Angas as her mentor, the wise "grandfather" water sprite, the trio of water nymphs and the witch, Anne-Marie Owens.

In contrast, the central act is not the best of Dvorak, set in a medieval court in which the Prince (Richard Berkeley-Steele) fulfils the witch's prophesy by neglecting the silent Rusalka in favour of an extrovert Princess (Susannah Glanville), a forceful duo.

The purpose of the choreography in an act that needs cutting was unclear.

The conductor, Oliver von Dohnanyi, drew warmth and colour from the score.