Glyndebourne's annual Prom visit took a little time to settle. Mozart operas played by period instrument bands like the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment can work thrillingly in the intimacy of small theatres, but in the vast space of the Royal Albert Hall the initial sense, even from the stalls, was that this Cosi, a semi-staged version of Nicholas Hytner's new production, was taking place somewhere in the distance.
At Glyndebourne in late May, Ivan Fischer's conducting seemed overly fussy. The overture apart, that slight sense of disjointedness has been ironed out now. The long finales flowed in a gloriously authentic Mozartian manner and Fischer drew consistently high-voltage playing from the OAE, marred only by some conspicuous horn fluffs in Fiordiligi's second act aria Per Pietà, ravishingly sung by the Swedish soprano Miah Persson, who just gets better and better each time I hear her.
As Dorabella, the mezzo Anke Vondung fizzed with energy. The tenor Topi Lehtipuu was technically impressive as Ferrando, though he seemed to strain his resources to the limit. But Nicolas Rivenq's undercharacterisation of Don Alfonso, both vocally and dramatically, seriously inhibited this Cosi from making its full impact. One just doesn't believe his Alfonso is capable of devising and driving the cynical plot that makes the four lovers betray one another so readily.
Though Persson's Fiordiligi adjusted best to the Albert Hall space, Luca Pisaroni's Guglielmo led the way in sheer vocal beauty. It's always a good test to notice which singer one is listening to in ensembles, and it was consistently the silky sound of Pisaroni. The great Thomas Hampson, sitting in the row in front of me, seemed to agree, judging by the enthusiasm of his applause for his fellow baritone.
· The proms continue until September 9. Box office: 020-7589 8212.
