Expert in British esoterica, John Andrews secures generally cheerful and passionate performances from his cast and The Brook Street Band that certainly tickle the ear. But this is a curio, not a masterpiece.

It’s an engaging if occasionally uneven piece, by turns coolly erotic and quietly ironic…The performance is lovely. John Andrews conducts with flair and style, and there’s some delectable playing from The Brook Street Band. Ed Lyon makes an ardent Paris…Mary Bevan sounds ravishing as Venus…It’s very entertaining, and great fun.

There’s not a dull moment in Arne’s sunny score; the three rival goddesses are vividly characterised by both composer and singers, but the stand-outs for me were Susanna Fairbairn’s imperious 'The glorious voice of war' (capped with a rock-solid high D) and Mary Bevan’s indolently voluptuous ‘Nature fram’d thee sure for loving’. Ed Lyon’s in virile voice as the hero, whetting the appetite for his debut solo disc on Delphian later this year.

If Mary Bevan’s Venus wins the golden apple with her ravishing Nature fram’d thee, Susanna Fairbairn and Gillian Ramm provide strong competition as Athene and Juno...Andrews’s stylish conducting makes a strong case for this English baroque discovery.

It’s all sung with a suitable lightness of touch, with sparkling accompaniment from the Brook Street Band, all artfully directed by John Andrews.