Gounod's old favourite returns in David McVicar's production, which moves the action to Paris in the 1870s and presents the composer's dual musical career in the theatre and the church as the intellectual crux of the piece. It's not much of an idea, and a cliche at that, but the theatrical vitality of the director's stagecraft matches Gounod's ability to come up with memorable music for every scene. The result is never less than entertaining, while generating darker responses in the ballet – a perversion of Giselle that shocks on both an aesthetic and a moral level.

An all-star cast looked as if it might have been compromised when Anna Netrebko withdrew in February, announcing that she had belatedly discovered that Marguerite was not for her. The first of two replacement sopranos, the Bulgarian Sonya Yoncheva, is surely a star in the making. She's technically nigh-on faultless, dashing off the Jewel Song's roulades as if it was the easiest sing in the world. She also manages to suggest Marguerite's shyness and innocence – not so easy for a demure village maiden, here employed in a racy nightclub. Her sense of the essential delicacy of Gounod's characteristically Gallic style is a major asset.

Also new to the production is Joseph Calleja, who convinces both as the elderly scholar of the opening act and the eager , if unreliable, young lover of the rest of the evening. A few moments of dubious intonation apart, he sings with ardency and some grace. Bryn Terfel enjoys himself hugely as Mephistopheles, sneering and snarling his way through the demonic routines, while Simon Keenlyside is a magnificent Valentin, combining anger with self-righteousness: his death scene is chilling. Conductor Maurizio Benini doesn't always maintain ideal momentum, but he is a sensitive accompanist.

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