Steven Scheschareg

All this action is treated in a fantastical manner by designer and director Andrej Woron, introducing eccentric elements like a bevy of dancing nuns, Star War troopers as the Sultan's guards, and a besuited Western dignitary prominent for his bright orange hair. The Vizier and his uniformed guards drew obvious parallels with modern Central Asian dictatorships though treated grotesquely rather than dangerously. The most striking scene is the highly charged love duet at the start of Act 2 when the Genie grants Aladin a vision of Laila, making graphic and modish use of a hand-held camera. Conductor Jonas Alber drew colourful playing from the orchestra, in a well paced performance though the small lively chorus could not really make the necessary jubilant effect in the concluding hymn to Allah.

John Johnston