At the end of this first-night performance, John Copley was congratulated on his fifty years' association with The Royal Opera. Speeches were made and a cake cut. It was a happy occasion. Copley's production of La bohème continues to delight; this is its 25th showing since 1974. Julia Trevelyan Oman's designs handsomely suggest 19th-century Paris and Copley's direction invites us to concentrate on the characters and the storyline. Nothing distracts.

Carmen Giannattasio (replacing Celine Byrne replacing Anja Harteros) is an affecting Mimì, capturing well her vulnerability and decency, the voice clear, the phrasing shapely. Her Royal Opera debut is a distinguished one. Joseph Calleja is her lover, the poet Rodolfo, his imposing tenor filling the auditorium effortlessly with honeyed tone; he is very moving come Mimì's demise.

The rest of the cast is good if somewhat variable. Rodolfo's fellow Bohemians - Matthew Rose as Colline, Thomas Oliemans as Schaunard and Fabio Capitanucci as Marcello - are a lively lot, yet Calleja tends to dominate, simply through having an outstanding voice and natural charisma. Nevertheless, the life of an artisan is well-conveyed in straitened and wintry times; and there's a collegiate feel to this particular foursome's daily goings-on. As the snooker-playing and cue-breaking Musetta, Nuccia Focile conveys well the character's feistiness and self-centredness, although her contribution was initially a little squally, but who blooms at the opera's end with her very real concern for the dying Mimì.

A tear-jerker this opera may be, but there are joys and laughs too. Semyon Bychkov conducts with a keen ear for detail while fully encompassing the music's high spirits, tenderness and ultimate tragedy; the very end - at Mimì's death - was balefully emotional. Bychkov may seem a bit hasty at times (the end of Act II and the sword-fighting moment in Act IV, for example), but the playing is excellent, almost as if these musicians are seeing the music for first time. Such freshness permeates the evening as a whole and, overall, this is the best revival of Copley's Bohème in recent years and should not be missed.