IT was good to hear Purcell's semi-opera, the Fairy Queen, which was lost for more than 200 years after its successful premiere (1692), resurrected as vitally as this.

The four masques, adapted freely from A Midsummer Night's Dream, have little connection with each other. So Andrew Pinnock's linking modern narrative, despite its pretentiousness, is an essential addition when the spoken dialogue is omitted. Mark Rawlinson projected it admirably.

The performance as a whole, directed from the harpsichord by Peter Seymour, had many plus-points. Foremost among them was the playing of the Yorkshire Baroque Soloists, here a mere dozen players. It was not simply the liveliness of the many linking dances and interludes. All the singers, choir and soloists alike, will have been buoyed up by the crisp, idiomatic swing of the accompaniments.

The strings were consistently energetic. But special praise belongs to Tony Robson and Caroline Kershaw, doubling on recorders and oboes, and the clean trumpeting of Crispian Steele-Perkins and George Parnaby on valveless trumpets. There are none finer in the business.

Vocal soloists were mainly taken from the chorus. Jason Darnell, the one exception, brought his versatile tenor to bear on arias of all types, including a drag version of the Coridon and Mopsa escapade partnered by Rawlinson's baritone. Nevertheless, the absence of a countertenor was a serious shortcoming.

The outstanding solo contribution came from soprano Judith Cunnold in The Plaint, which was exquisitely phrased. Choral ensemble was impressively tight throughout. An inspired evening.

Updated: 12:03 Monday, June 23, 2003