Adriana Lecouvreur is supposedly based on a true story, the lead turns out to be a right ol’ Diva, the plot is a mess and the music supra-romantic. And it gets even better. Francesco Cilea’s luscious arias keep coming. Every act has one you will want to hum.

Cheryl Barker is in her element as Adriana, to the extent that she may at times be playing herself. Conductor Manlio Benzi comes close to making the City of London Sinfonia sound Italianate. Tiziana Carraro is a perfectly bad Princess of Bouillon. Bad in the sense that Adriana’s rival, who is also vying for the attention of Maurizio, is a ridiculously jealous character. Carraro balances the role just about convincingly enough without tipping over into caricature.

Francesca Cilea (1866-1950) is only remembered for two operas. L’arlesiana is nowadays a rarity, but the original version (there were many) featured Enrico Caruso. Adriana Lecouvreur was inspired by a real person, but you have to allow for artistic licence in the way her romantic affair with the Count of Saxony and her sudden death by poisoning are portrayed in the opera.

Lecouvreur was an 18th century Comédie-Française actress who became famous for her naturalistic style of acting....