TIMES change. Traditional productions are the exception these days. Tim Albery's swinging, hip production of Cos seven years ago was not a success. Yet he has been brought back for a rethink.

His superficially straightforward, but supremely subtle, 18th-century production takes place within an enormous camera obscura, putting the six characters under the microscope and sealing them hermetically from the outside world. Not even the chorus appears.

The camera, and the period costumes, are Tobias Hoheisel's inspiration. The ladies start in plain brocades, elegantly restrained. As the emotional heat turns up, they unlace their hearts and their consciences, shedding their wigs and letting their hair down. So, too, there is a burgeoning warmth in Yves Abel's orchestra. Albery's conception is beautifully integrated. Malin Bystrm's Fiordiligi is a creature of real flesh and blood, contrasted with Ann Taylor's more frisky Dorabella. Bystrm's Per Piet, in quiet panic, brings tears to the eyes. There is genuine eroticism in Il Core Vi Dono, as Taylor cavorts with Roderick Williams's raffish Guglielmo. Iain Paton's thoughtful Ferrando wins sympathy. Claire Wild's cheeky Despina flirts with frivolity in her disguises. Peter Savidge is an opaque Don Alfonso, with just enough gravitas.

With the orchestra a sensitive co-conspirator throughout, this is an evening to savour. Not so "traditional" after all.

Updated: 10:59 Tuesday, November 02, 2004