Vanessa review: Glyndebourne finds the film noir in Barber's great American opera

The great mystery surrounding Samuel Barber’s Vanessa is why the opera has never become more of a repertory piece either in its native US or in the UK.

Glyndebourne’s magnificent production makes the strongest possible case for it. However, wrapped within the rich textures of the opera are yet more mysteries. Vanessa, has been waiting 20 years for the return of her only love, Anatol. When a man of that name appears, it is his son, but does he love Vanessa or her niece, Erika?

The overtones of forbidden, indeed incestuous, love are difficult to ignore (the book Vanessa’s menacingly silent mother is reading is Oedipus) and those overtones are explored, without undue insistence, in Keith Warner’s ingenious production. Ashley Martin-Davis’s designs feature huge mirrors revealing past and present interactions. They are also silver screens, and the monochrome sets summon to mind feelings of film noir.

The action revolves round three women, played here by Emma Bell (Vanessa), Virginie Verrez (Erika) and Rosalind Plowright (The Old Baroness, whose stony silence towards daughter and grand-daughter is another mystery). Edgaras Montvidas is convincing as Anatol, while Donnie Ray Albert is excellent as the Old Doctor.

The score, although egregiously tonal for the 1950s, is as sophisticated as the libretto (by Barber’s lover Gian Carlo Menotti). Jakub Hrůša’s sensitive conducting and Warner’s superbly judged production combine to make a deep and abiding impression.

Until August 26 (01273 815000, glyndebourne.com); live online/cinemas August 14