Siegfried, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

The magic of sit-com opera

Siegfried, in the second act of Wagner's opera, is suddenly accompanied by a pretty, red-haired girl in a white trouser suit. Is this a redundant addition to the cast? Her clever movements soon identify her as a bird; she is evidently a dancer. Wrong again; as Siegfried tastes the dragon's blood and learns to understand birdsong, the lovely apparition opens her mouth and sings. It is Gillian Keith as a sparkling Woodbird, and this is the most magical moment of Tim Albery's totally magical production for Scottish Opera.

The producer has continued his habit, established in last year's Die Walküre at Edinburgh's Festival Theatre, of placing the characters in a world of modern sitcom. Thus, Siegfried himself is Kevin the teenager in a woolly hat, combat jacket and trainers, roughing up his stepfather Mime, a pathetically funny Alasdair Elliott in wet-look shorts, tweed jacket and flat cap. The smith's workshop is situated on a trunk road, and equipped with an electric cooker and strip lighting.

Matthew Best, his warm, heavy baritone more authoritative than ever, is a down-at-heel Wanderer in shades, and Peter Sidhom's manic, driven Alberich is a dodgy character in a dirty raincoat. Act II takes place, apparently, at a bus stop, the two old campaigners squabbling on a park bench like crotchety OAPs.

With the help of the set designer Hildegard Bechtler, Albery avoids every pitfall. The Wanderer is not encumbered with a spear; it appears spontaneously from somewhere whenever it is needed. The dragon, in the past a source of many an unwanted titter, is at first a hideous screen, afterwards just a man in a dinner jacket (Markus Hollop). Since there is no anvil, Siegfried cannot slice it with his sword; instead, the sword fills the stage with flashes of fire.

Above all, everything is clarified, nothing obscured – the sure sign of an intelligent director – and the opera's difficulties are somehow resolved. Siegfried as teenage bully is replaced by Siegfried as lonely victim, his self-esteem still fragile even when he is accepted by the world's loveliest woman.

Elizabeth Byrne continues her magnificent portrayal of Brünnhilde. The closing scene is overwhelming, although the Siegfried, Graham Sanders, gives throughout no more than a sketch of the part. There is a real heroic voice hidden in there somewhere, but at present he seems too worried about conserving himself to the end of this immense role. Helene Ranada is a moving, beautiful Erda in nightie and dressing gown.

The Orchestra of Scottish Opera sails magisterially through the huge score. The conductor, Richard Armstrong, has managed to achieve exactly the right balance between space and nervous energy. This must surely be the most inventive and successful Siegfried for many a year.

31 Aug (0131-473 2000). Then at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow, 4, 7, 14 & 21 Sept (0141-332 9000)