A spellbinding Ritorno d'Ulisse in patria opens the Grange Festival

A fine singing cast gives creditable performances in Johann Stauss II's most famous operetta, but Paul Curran's updating of Act 2 to 1930s Berlin takes the fizz out of the Champagne.

Singing performances are excellent, the staging is well crafted and Stravinsky's eclectic score entertains from start to finish. But it's an evening's opera that doesn't touch the soul.

Terrific music making with a light directorial touch brings mixed results to Monteverdi's 1643 masterpiece. 

In a setting that might be The Grange itself, a production which steadily tightens its grip until a blistering finish.

Some exceptional singing intermittently enlivens Daniel Slater's production which, dramatically and emotionally, takes time to ignite.