Choice: Opera; From the House of the Dead

From the House of the Dead, The Coliseum, London WC2 (0171-632 8300)

From the House of the Dead, The Coliseum, London WC2 (0171-632 8300)

This is ENO at its considerable best. On the face of it, there is little to entice a public greedy for glamour in the shape of star names, but ENO regulars know better than to swallow the guff put about by singers' agents

and the PR machine. ENO's recent productions have been very up and down, but the appointment of Paul Daniel as the Director of Music has proved an inspiration to the entire company. Just listen to the orchestra in Janacek's final masterpiece. Producer Tim Albery rightly trusts the score and, as a result, the entire evening is marvellously acted and thrillingly sung. With ENO's future under threat, you could do little better than to support the company by seeing this show... and having a tremendous experience into the bargain. David Benedict