La Fanciulla del West - review

The original opera tells the story of Minnie, the innocent saloon barmaid whom Jack the sheriff loves, but who falls for the robber Johnson. The relocation sees American gold-diggers become Eastern European émigrés and the saloon a Soho internet bar.

Both the librettists (Robert Chevara and Kfir Yefet) and the director delight in working in the local and contemporary references. So Strictly Come Dancing pops up on the telly, and people sing about Notting Hill and the Central Line to squeals from the impressed audience.

Laura Parfitt is genuinely endearing as Minnie, by turns fluttery and stern with her enthralled bar guests, melting with Johnson. As Albanian crim Jack Rock, Tom Stoddart carries real threat and sings beautifully. His crew back him up - their homesick chorus really warms up the first act.

But the show is spiked with flaws that take you out of the moment. The present-day references become too ostentatious. With the audience also guffawing at the Lloyd Webber tunes that famously fleck the score, it's all so knowing.

As Johnson, Ben Thapa is miscast for this venue - a tenor whose top notes are unpleasantly loud at close quarters - it adds an unwanted tense anticipation to the love scenes.

Finally, there's under-rehearsed muddle - a screen doesn't switch on in time, the hidden body which is the whole focus of Act 2 isn't hidden, the poker grift that is the second act's climax comes off ham-fistedly.

Opera Up Close get a lot of goodwill and it is part of the low-budget concept to wink at such cock-ups. But, in truth, it's not being stuffy to expect some kind of stagecraft from a show costing £25 per ticket. Frustrating.

La Fanciulla Del West
King's Head, Islington
Upper Street, Islington, N1 1QN