Logically, it should be a marriage made, if not in heaven, then at least in a royal court. The King and I, one of the most lavish musicals ever dreamed up, should fit perfectly into the opulent splendour of the Albert Hall, where the red velvet décor already has overtones of oriental potentates.

Raymond Gubbay, famous for his über-spectacles, is behind this staging, which should provide further cause for reassurance. Yet while this visit to 1860s Siam is never less than enjoyable, we oddly feel as though we’re watching something beautiful from a long way off, as if through a gauze screen. More emotional welly would be welcome.

Director Jeremy Sams has made a peculiar decision for his in-the-round-ish production, which is to stage nearly all of the action in the rear half of the playing area. On the odd occasion that Anna (Maria Friedman) or the King (Lost star Daniel Dae Kim) ventures forward, it’s enchanting and, crucially, involving.

How I wished, though, that someone, anyone, had made use of the boats sitting so temptingly on designer Robert Jones’s ornamental lake, part of his scheme to convey the entire world of Bangkok in one lush swoop.

This 1951 piece came as the pinnacle of an astonishing eight years of creativity for Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, and is duly stuffed with enduring classics.

The honey-voiced Friedman, to this part born, has fun with the standards I Whistle a Happy Tune and Getting to Know You, even if the evening’s high point, Shall We Dance, doesn’t leave quite the indelible impression that it should, as east-west differences between Anna and the King melt away on a deserted dancefloor.

There are some, of course, who carp at the bygone imperial-era politics, as a no-nonsense Westerner sets about civilising the “natives” but no one could fail to smile at the delightful parade of royal children, bowing before their stern father.

Dae Kim could, in fact, play up the patriarchal dominance more at the start because, as it stands, we suspect that Anna could sweep straight through him with her Victorian skirt as wide as a subcontinent.

There’s impressive playing from the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra under the musical direction of Gareth Valentine and even if the whole thing doesn’t make you want to dance, you’ll certainly hum along happily.

Until June 28. Information: 020 7838 3100, www.royalalberthall.com