Garsington Opera begins a new phase of its existence in a glorious home on the Wormsley Estate with a lucid, if oddly unfocused production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute.

Directed by Olvia Fuchs, whose work for the company has included Rimsky-Korsakov’s Mayskaya Noch’ and Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, it at times gives an impression of novelty for its own sake, particularly in the matter of costumes and a set bedecked with umbrellas as if for a performance of Singin’ in the Rain.

Still, a modicum of larkiness has always been a welcome element of the Garsington offering, and it is perhaps a good thing that it survives here. The first bars of the overture (conductor Martin André) reveal something new to festival audiences in the perfect accoustics of Robin Snell’s pavilion building, which is open (minus the flapping of canvas) to landscape views on both sides. Though surtitles are provided, these barely prove necessary, so clear are the words sung in English into the evening air.

This listener-friendly environment leaves the performers ruthlessly exposed where failings are concerned. Tonight, we winced as Kim Sheehan’s Queen of the Night struggled for those vicious high Fs in her celebrated Act II ‘revenge’ aria; at the other end of the vocal register Evan Boyer at times lacked the bass boom required for Sarastro.

There was no doubt, though, that Rebecca von Lipinski, Catherine Hopper and Louise Poole together possessed the necessary vocal fire as the queen’s punkily-clad Ladies-in-Waiting. Their drooling over Tamino (Robert Murray), once they had saved him from the serpent (here a long red drape), showed passion that quickly turned to fury after the false claim of Papageno (William Berger) to have performed the feat.

With his kilt and lavatory brush mohican hair, the birdcatcher hardly presents a traditional appearance, but he sings extremely well, sharing vocal honours here with Sophie Bevan’s Pamina (pictured with him, right) who earned the cheers she deserved from the first night crowd.

Continues until July 5. Festival tickets: www.garsingtonopera.org or 01865 361636.