The Secret Marriage may have been one of the most popular operas of the late 18th century, but its continuing presence in the repertoire is something of a mystery. Cimarosa's opera buffa is built on the flimsiest of plots: the music, though effervescent, never achieves a fraction of the depth of a Mozart/da Ponte comedy.

But it is an entertaining start to Scottish Opera's new season. Director Harry Fehr has revisited the Palladian setting of his Cinderella for Scottish Opera's touring wing, albeit on a grander scale. The twist here is that while the decor is entirely Robert Adam, the period is updated to the 1950s. This setting rather subverts the class comedy at the heart of the opera:

there is little to distinguish the arriviste Geronimo and his family from the aristocratic Count Robinson, though at least, as the rock'n'roll outfits donned by fleeing lovers Carolina and Paolino suggest, in this period there is life outside the class system.

The production makes the most of the farcial elements, playing everything for laughs at a frantic pace - there are lots of slamming doors. Women rule the roost - neither Quirijn de Lang's weedy Count Robinson nor Andrew Slater's blustery Geronimo can hold their own against Wendy Dawn Thompson and Renate Arends's predatory Fidalma and Elisetta. Even the bubbly, good-natured Carolina - an engaging performance from Rebecca Bottone - has more backbone than Matthew Garrett as her clandestine husband Paolino.

With a cast of sympathetic characters, the opera lacks bite. However, conductor Garry Walker ensures that the action fizzes along and makes for an enjoyable, if not particularly memorable, performance.