"Telemann’s comic opera gets a 1960s twist in a smart and stylish staging that finds surprising resonance in a frothy farce at the Linbury Theatre... director Sophie Gilpin and her creative team, Anna Yates (designs) and Ryan Day (lighting), have cleverly reimagined this 300 year old intermezzo as a standalone evening, giving it a makeover that’s both fun and just pointed enough to raise an eyebrow or two. The result is a brisk, compact production that charms, provokes and never outstays its welcome... We’re in 1960s London – a bold but effective choice that gives the action a retro flair and underlines the opera’s gender politics with a sly winK... It’s a touch that sums up the production’s approach: heightened, irreverent and more than a little camp – but anchored by a sense of purpose beneath the sparkle.. What’s most impressive is how it manages to tease out something genuinely resonant from a libretto that could so easily feel dated. There’s a sting in the tale here – not so much a cautionary ending as a raised eyebrow at the costs of underestimating the women in your life."

★★★★ MUSIC OMH