THE stage is occupied by a vast cruciform dais which rises towards the end of Act I to reveal the prisoners huddled miserably beneath, then hangs with menace above Florestan in his terrible isolation. This powerful dramatic symbol by Paul Brown enables the action to take place on two levels while focusing interest on the principals, as Graham Vick's new production for English National Opera drives inexorably to the core of the ideology that is Fidelio's mainspring.

Apart from the noisy arrival of the military police during the march proceeding Pizarro's entry, no fashionable innovation is allowed to deflect attention from the subtle evolution of relations between Marzelline and Fidelio, Jaquino and Marzelline, Rocco and Fidelio. Pizarro and Florestan inevitably remain solitary figures, expressing the polarisation of evil and good.

The singing is exemplary, with Gwynne Howell in fine voice as, Roceo, Mary Plazas and Philip Sheffield, strong and clear as Marzelline and Jaquino, and Kathryn Harris a Leonora of impressive musical and personal appeal.