Elijah Moshinsky's staging of Otello has served the Royal Opera well since it was first seen in 1987, when it was conducted by Carlos Kleiber with Placido Domingo in the title role. Its blameless naturalism has provided the framework for a host of visiting star singers in subsequent revivals, and the selling point of this latest one was meant to be Renée Fleming's first appearances as Desdemona outside the US. But Fleming has withdrawn from the first two performances for personal reasons, to be replaced by Amanda Roocroft, who appeared in the production four years ago.

Roocroft proves to be a more than able substitute, without ever suggesting that this Desdemona is anything more than a pawn in the power-play between Ben Heppner's Otello and Lucio Gallo's Iago. But in fact none of the protagonists hints at any kind of back-story; there's little sense of real personalities behind the posturing. What they provide instead is a secure but rather routine presentation of Verdi's opera. Heppner is a fine artist, but his singing was sometimes effortful and lacked any Italianate colour, while Gallo's bespectacled schemer was subdued, and perhaps too subtle for a production that doesn't go in much for psychological insights.

The most convincing performances come in the smaller parts. When Robert Lloyd's Lodovico makes his appearance in the final act, a new sense of dramatic authority comes with him, while Andrew Kennedy as Roderigo and Paul Charles Clarke as Cassio make strong impressions, and both handle the text with real purpose. However good those roles are, however, they can't compensate for a lack of dramatic fire at the centre - and neither does it come from the pit, where Antonio Pappano's performance is efficient without ever grabbing the opera by the throat. Otello should be deeply disturbing, almost unwatchable, but this one you can take or leave.

· In rep until July 16. Box office: 020-7212 9460.