Bates is, like Gluck, wonderfully radical. Where other directors smooth over disjunctions, he revels in rupture…This is directorship at its most alert, and aiding Bates is an optimal cast…Davies radiates Orfeo’s impassioned tenderness, changing vocal colours as the drama demands. Sophie Bevan’s Euridice swings, with blazing bravura and increasing intensity, from anguish to narcissism…It’s the stuff of Gluck’s dreams.

Soprano Sophie Bevan and countertenor Iestyn Davies match each other in purity of tone and sensitive interpretation. Soprano Rebecca Bottone has rather less to do, but she has a clear and distinctive voice that fits the limited role well. The orchestral performance of La Nuova Musica is finely balanced, and each of the instrumental textures emerges with no muddiness or intonation issues. The tempos are, under David Bates’s capable direction, all perfect for this opera.

The chorus has much to do, and I lost count of the number of times it ravished the ear… The orchestra, too, is extremely accomplished… The soloists are magnificent. Iestyn Davies sings smoothly throughout… Sophie Bevan comes across powerfully, getting more and more stroppy as she rails at Orfeo for not looking at her. Rebecca Bottone has a perfect voice for Amore (Cupid), light and bright… High praise, then, for David Bates and his ensemble.

On their own terms, these are finely sung performances — Davies is affecting in Che faro senza Euridice — but Bates’s tempi tend to err on the lethargic side in the slower dances. Rebecca Bottone is a pert, perky Cupid.

The CD of the original 1762 version has David Bates conducting, and he provides a bright, lively and rhythmic reading – crisp and commanding. Iestyn Davies’ countertenor sounds very fine, with his slightly nasal quality which veers between beauty and hooty, while overall he lacks fire.