The Perfect American concerns Walt Disney and his final months in 1966 suffering from lung cancer. The opera is based on the book by Peter Stephan Jungk with a libretto by Rudy Wurlitzer. Christopher Purves plays Disney, and is a good look-alike. If by the end of the evening, we probably know not much more about Disney, we do get a few insights as to his personality, his fear of death, his earlier obsession with creating the Disney empire, to the extent that his employees have to agree that their work is to carry the Disney name, and his pessimism and capability to disrespect people. Confrontation with a sacked employee, William Dantine, forms part of the opera's scenario.

Perhaps one rarely feels one way or another for Disney as portrayed here; after all, his place in the hall of fame is secure, and Jungk's book, and therefore Glass's opera, is fictitious as to how Disney existed in his final months. But his intimate sharing with his caring nurse, whom he has dubbed "Snow White" and is well taken by Janis Kelly, is poignant, and his irascibility and hunger for power are well conveyed.

Purves has fully encompassed the role, as have the excellent cast, whether his family (wife and two daughters), the raging Dantine, taken by Donald Kaasch, the appearance of Abraham Lincoln by the tall Zachary James, who also plays an undertaker, and John Easterlin appears as Andy Warhol.

If Glass's word-setting is more parlando than anything else, there being no memorable tunes as such but is listener-friendly throughout, what makes the show is Glass's writing for the orchestra and the superb production. The opera opens with a typical Glass pulse, but he has thankfully curtailed his minimalist tendencies and creates not only many engaging ideas but also lovely colours and chords. Sometimes one hears the same use of percussion for too long, but that is a minor blemish, and certainly Glass is able to raise the emotional temperature. The ENO Orchestra played superbly for Gareth Jones. The staging is masterly in its combination of lighting, costumes and eye-catching graphics - owls, steam trains...

The Perfect American is in two acts, lasting respectively 60 and 45 minutes, and seems an ideal length. Interest rarely flagged on this first night, at which Glass was present, and equally rarely did one feel that the music was running on the spot. Indeed, its variety is engaging (and maybe surprising!). With all the elements of opera coming together in a very positive way, The Perfect American turns out to be a very good night out and a triumph for ENO, the work's co-commissioner with Madrid's Teatro Real.