Rossini's take on Cinderella is a well-loved comic opera, but it is not exactly a fairy story. Glass slippers and pumpkins are out, the ball is more of a royal at-home, and there's definitely no fairy godmother - unless you count Alidoro, the Prince's wise and avuncular tutor, who "discovers" Cinderella and engineers her visit to the palace.

This is more of a class commentary. And that's how the duo of Patrice Courier and Moshe Leiser treat it. The worldly comedy is nicely handled. Many of the laughs come from satirical swipes at the awful, gold-digging baron Don Magnifico, who, hammed up in great comedy-villain style by Simone Alaimo, deserves all he gets.

But, perhaps in the glimpse into Cinderella's imagination, there's a hint of modern fairy-tale, too. When Alidoro rustles up a sleek sky-blue car as her carriage, he also reveals his party piece: the ability to sprout a fine pair of golden wings. Lorenzo Regazzo is a charming enough Alidoro to ensure that this works. The rest of the cast, most of them returning to this production, work well together. Leah-Marian Jones and Emma Dogliani are lots of fun as the sisters, not so much ugly as ghastly, though you feel a twinge of sympathy for Jones's Tisbe as, eclipsed by Cinderella's radiant entrance in a tastefully spangly gown, she glances down ruefully at her own hopelessly gaudy frock.

Alessandro Corbelli is the bumbling valet Dandini, while the Prince is sung by the starry young tenor Juan Diego Florez, who bounds up to his clarion high notes like an eager puppy.

Newcomer Vesselina Kasarova does not quite have the stage presence to make Rossini's Cinderella into a sympathetic heroine rather than a bit of a moaner, but sings the role beautifully in a mezzo soprano that's velvety rich without being heavy, and makes all the vocal flourishes sound easy.

There are one or two moments of shaky coordination between stage and pit, but Evelino Pido keeps the score zipping along. Ever after is a bit much to ask, but this is definitely one of the Royal Opera's happier evenings.

· In rep until January 29. Box office: 020-7304 4000