Judged solely as a musical experience, Welsh National Opera's new Turn of the Screw is impressive. The 13-strong chamber orchestra plays with feeling for conductor Carlo Rizzi, who shapes and paces Britten's lucid and wonderfully imaginative score with a sure sense of tragic drama.

Janice Watson is warmly expressive as the governess, charting her wildly swinging moods with assurance. Mary Lloyd-Davies turns the housekeeper, Mrs Grose, into a real flesh-and-blood character, not the blandly maternal figure of other productions. Paul Nilon is surprisingly touching as the ghostly Peter Quint. As the two children, Oliver Carden is a touching Miles, and Yvette Bonner is so persuasive as Flora that it is possible to believe (for once) that Britten is as interested in her fate as in that of her brother.

Unfortunately the musical performances are weighed down by John Crowley's leaden production. Rob Howell's sets have a sombre, claustrophobic quality, but the ghosts themselves are as creepy as a low-budget Christmas panto: with spirits as solid and unthreatening as these, it is hard to see why the poor governess should find them frightening. The only frisson is provided by the music.

The central platform - raised, lowered and tilted as the action progresses - creaks. One should only see scene-changes when they are actually worth watching. There is one imaginative touch: Quint's crinkly hairstyle looks eerily like Britten's. But if Britten is the sinister seducer, he is also the victim - the charming, talented golden boy. The production ignores that possibility. So we have a fatally one-sided portrait of Britten's sexuality: damaging, but not damaged. This Turn of the Screw might work well enough on the radio; visually it has little, if anything, to add.

The Turn of the Screw will be broadcast on Radio 3 on May 31.