Richard Jones’ lively ‘retro pageant’ take on Britten’s notorious flop proves anything but “Boriana”.

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, July 4

The opening night of Benjamin Britten’s grand, national operatic commission to celebrate the accession of the young Queen Elizabeth still remains one of opera’s mysteries. With the entire British Royal Family in attendance and “an invited audience of stuck pigs”, as Britten noted waspishly, perhaps it never stood a chance. “Boriana”, some called it. Nevertheless, Her Majesty, who had been personally introduced to the work in advance by the composer himself, was said to have applauded for eight unbroken minutes. Even good old Prince Philip had reportedly boned up on the libretto in advance of the official gala (which one can’t see him doing nowadays before dropping in to catch a revival of Birtwistle’s Minotaur). The second night ‘paying’ audience were considerably more enthusiastic, and yet the canard of its lukewarm reception and subsequent failure has become legendary.

For the Britten centenary, the Royal Opera House have taken the bold step of choosing Gloriana, which like Her Majesty is itself celebrating a 60 year anniversary, rather than the more obviously marketable Grimes, Screws, Dreams and Budds. And good on...