I don't see the word emblazoned on the programme, but the Young Vic's Christmas show is an opera in all but name. Don't, however, let that deter anyone from taking the children. Reuniting many of the team that brought us Tobias and the Angel, this is a show that proves opera, at its best, is a source of magic and enchantment.
The librettist, Alasdair Middleton, has raided the fairy-tale catalogue, drawing on Romanian, Norwegian and classical sources. He starts with King Hildebrand and his three daughters, the youngest of whom, Flora, is fated to be married to a pig. Undeterred by the fact that her mate is under a spell that makes him a swine by day and a swain by night, Flora falls in love with him and, when he is abducted by a wicked old woman, she goes in ardent galactic pursuit of him, aided by the sun, moon and north wind.
At various times, the story nods in the direction of Beauty and the Beast, Bluebeard, The Golden Ass and King Lear. But, even if the final quest is a little protracted, the story is bound together by the charm of Middleton's lyrics and Jonathan Dove's score. Announcing that her husband is a pig, Flora is tartly informed by the old woman that "most husbands are". But such cynicism is offset by a number delivered by Mr and Mrs Northwind who look like a fractious pair until they jointly sing: "I love the curlers in her hair, I love his filthy underwear." At this point Dove's score, which has echoes of Sondheim and Weill, suddenly acquires a panto jauntiness.
As with Tobias and the Angel, John Fulljames's production makes extensive use of the space. Caryl Hughes's single-minded, and very well sung Flora flies through the air like a more appealing version of Mary Poppins. Rodney Clarke's Pig makes his first scarifying entrance in the stalls before turning out to be a gent in porcine clothing. John Rawnsley, Jonathan Miller's original Rigoletto, pops up in various melodic guises, including a boxing-gloved Hildebrand and a flat-capped Northwind. And Nuala Wllis is a tower of strength as the Book of Fate, a wicked witch and the Nora Batty-like Mrs Northwind.
But the real success of the show, designed by Dick Bird, is its combination of realism and romance. As they delightfully sing in the final chorus, "Love gives you blisters, love leaves you blind. Love is the rarest jewel you can find."
· Until January 27. Box office: 020-7922 2922.
