Covent Garden's "new" Peter Grimes is actually a 10-year old production, first seen at La Monnaie in Brussels. There it was directed by Willy Decker; here it has been revived by François de Carpentries. Whatever the provenance, this remains a crisply organised piece of theatre - though it never erases memories of the Royal Opera's previous staging, which performed such long and effective service.

That version, directed by Elijah Moshinsky, was built around a titanic performance of the title role by Jon Vickers, whose unique Grimes combined elemental fury and rhapsodic vision. The main problem with its successor is that Ben Heppner's performance lacks any hint of those qualities. He is neither mad nor bad, just a weak, deeply imperfect man, a bit of a bully persecuted by those around him. Crucially, in operatic terms, his accounts of Grimes's greatest moments lack vocal authority, although he is skilfully supported by Antonio Pappano, who conducts with zip and zeal, if a touch glibly at times.

The costumes fix the production in Victorian times, but John Macfarlane's settings are austerely abstract with little suggestion of the sea, let alone the Suffolk coast. They set the tone for the lack of identity that runs through the production. The handling of the chorus, which is pressed into wonderfully potent stage patterns, is virtuosic, but the protagonists are mostly ciphers; only Alan Opie's Balstrode, witty, wise and full of telling detail, has a strong presence. For the first time in any production of this opera I wondered whether, after the wreckage of her relationship with Grimes, Ellen Orford might find salvation with the old sea captain. However, the schoolteacher, as presented here by Janice Watson, might not be everyone's idea of a good time.

Gabriel Sassi Mayoral Galindo as Grimes's new apprentice is discomfitingly touching; the rest of the principals make little impression. There is Sarah Walker's pantomime dame-ish Mrs Sedley and Anne Collins's warm-hearted Auntie, plus ranting bigotry from Brian Galliford's rector and Ian Caley's Bob Boles. Perhaps that's Decker's big idea: that individuality is lost when collective hysteria takes over. Here, the lynch mob parade under a cross, brandished in the fourth act as if it were an auto-da-fé with the fires already burning for Grimes; at least this production is pleasingly anti-religious.

· In rep until July 16. Box office: 020-7304 4000.