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Despite its off-stage financial woes, with brutal cuts inflicted by Arts Councils both Welsh and English, Welsh National Opera is on an artistic roll. Hot on the heels of Olivia Fuchs’ outstanding Death in Venice in the spring, the highlight of the season for many, along comes Sir David McVicar’s staging of Puccini’s Il trittico, which debuted last season at co-producing Scottish Opera.

It’s fashionable in some circles to knock McVicar, a director whose productions often have a lavish period costume drama vibe. I won’t hear any of it. Abstract grey concrete and neon lighting may be all the rage – for which read 'cheap' – but with McVicar you get a show with a definite sense of period and place that looks good.

Alexia Voulgaridou (Suor Angelica) in Il Trittico | Photo credit: Craig Fuller

A sense of period and place, though not always ‘in period’. Tabarro most definitely is (1910), but Suor Angelica is set some time in the 1940s or 50s (there’s a portrait of Pope Pius XII), in a Magdalene laundry, essentially a workhouse for “fallen women” who became pregnant outside of marriage – the very 'crime' Angelica has committed – and forced to give up their babies. Gianni Schicchi is shunted forward to 1971, cue for some wonderfully garish wallpaper and costumes.

McVicar’s attention to detail is almost forensic. Peek inside the cabin of the barge in Il tabarro and the eagle-eyed will spot a sepia photograph of Michele and Giorgetta, holding the baby whose death haunts them both. And Buoso Donati’s room in Gianni Schicchi, crammed with a lifetime of detritus, actually looks lived in, from the shelves stuffed with paperwork to the porn mags underneath the bed alongside the chamber pot.

Charles Edwards’ sets are superb, especially for Tabarro which has a barge, low bridge and quayside in cramped proximity, lending the Parisian scene a claustrophobic air. Ben Pickersgill’s lighting here is outstanding – the sunset, shadows and the way darkness shrouds the scene, but also the golden light he showers on Suor Angelica. Hannah Clark’s costumes – with precise delineation of the nuns’ status in the convent – are eye-popping in Schicchi, with Daniel Norman’s Gherardo channelling Austin Powers, while Marco (James Cleverton) and Nella (WNO favourite Rebecca Evans) have a definite Basil and Sybil Fawlty vibe. There’s even a reference to the Fawlty Towers “Kipper and the Corpse” episode when Donati’s body is concealed in the wardrobe.

Haegee Lee (Sister Genovieffa) & Alexia Voulgaridou (Sister Angelica) in Il Trittico | Photo credit: Craig Fuller

Greg Eldridge has revived the staging for WNO, drawing terrific performances from the cast. Greek soprano Alexia Voulgaridou sang with great sincerity as Giorgetta and Angelica, her lower register especially powerful. Roland Wood brooded darkly as Michele before switching mood for a wide boy Schicchi. As Luigi, Leonardo Caimi didn’t bellow but still struck his ringing phrases pleasingly. After minor roles in the first two operas, Haegee Lee sang a delicious 'O mio babbino caro' as Lauretta in Schicchi, where Oleksiy Palchykov dispatched the nerdy Rinuccio with forceful (sometimes too forceful) tone. Tichina Vaughn was a rasping Zia Principessa and a grasping Zita.

There were plenty of opportunities for chorus members – some of whom were handing out 'Protect WNO' leaflets in front of the Wales Millennium Centre – to play minor roles, demonstrating the excellence that runs through this entire company. Former Music Director Carlo Rizzi drew superb playing from the orchestra – teasing out details such as the crepuscular Parisian soundscape or the meowing in the woodwinds when Frugola sings about her cat. This is a tremendous company achievement.

WNO clearly has another hit on its hands. The good news is that this production returns in the autumn – as a triptych in Cardiff, followed by an Angelica and Schicchi 'dittico' on tour.

Until 5 Oct | Tickets available here