REVIEW: The Indian Queen

Purcell's original concept was based on a fictional account of a battle between the Aztecs and the Incas; Sellars changes it to Spanish conquistadors against the Aztecs, which makes more sense historically, but having the Spanish brandishing AK47s loses all credibility. 

I imagine this is done in the cause of introducing 'relevance' or 'socialist realism' into the production, but if the story isn't relevant to the present day, there's no point in trying to make it so, and if it is relevant, it shouldn't need light automatics to emphasise the point.

Having got my rant against modern directors out of the way, I can get on with praising the parts of this production that deserve it.

Purcell's music is sublime, and the conductor Laurence Cummings brings out its beauty from an orchestra playing authentic instruments.

In particular, there are several duets between solo voice and single instrument that were among the most glorious examples of music of this era that I have ever heard. 

Sellars has completed Purcell's opera by including some hymns and other music by the same composer, which works very well.

He has also beefed up the libretto with extracts from Rosario Aguilar's modern novel The Lost Chronicles of Terra Firma, which sometimes seem incongruous, though not nearly as badly as the AK47s. 

The singing, particularly that of sopranos Lucy Crowe and Julia Bullock, and counter-tenor Vince Yi, has the strong, pure quality demanded by Purcell's music, and the vibrant, Aztec-themed set designs by the wonderfully named Gronk do their job well. 

With dancers and actors adding to the spectacle,  particularly the Puerto Rican actress Maritxell Carrero speaking lines from Aguilar's writings in just the right accent, this all adds up to an enthralling evening's entertainment.

But please take those silly light automatics away next time.  

Tickets: www.eno.org, or 020 7845 9300 (last performances March 12 and 14).