Even with performers chosen on the back of appearances in the Austrian version of Strictly Come Dancing, there’s a sense of time-gone-by about this DVD – certainly for British viewers. Im weissen Rössl (“White Horse Inn”, if you prefer) is the type of show that American musicals expelled from the British stage a couple of generations ago, at least. It’s still loved on the Continent, though, and it was the choice for this year’s production at the festival at Mörbisch on Lake Neusiedler – some 40 miles south-east of Vienna and close to Haydn’s Eisenstadt.

Conceived originally as a stage spectacular, the show is much more naturally suited to the vast spaces of Mörbisch (with seats for 6000) than the more intimate Der Vogelhändler, whose DVD version I reviewed in 2006. There’s a huge cast and colourful and substantial sets and props. Emperor Franz Joseph arrives by steamer, and other characters come by charabanc and bicycle. One sings his entrance song from a sports car, and there’s even a cart pulled by a white horse. There are slick chorus and dance routines, too, as well as enjoyable fun from a herd of pantomime cows.

The performance as a whole has a welcome freshness to it – agreeably more relaxed than German-language CD versions, which have tended to be spoilt by brashly updated orchestrations (indeed, the show has probably fared better on disc in French than in German). The microphones necessitated by the open-air setting may initially threaten to distort, but one soon adjusts. Pop star Rainhard Fendrich lacks a little lightness of approach as errant head waiter Leopold, but his is still ultimately an impressive enough performance. Zabine Kapfinger as landlady Josepha has some problems with the vocal line; but a Styrian number gives her the chance to show off the yodelling for which she is apparently celebrated.

The score is admirably performed under the seasoned baton of Rudolf Bibl, and a range of camera vantage-points helps to convey the impressive scale of the production. This is good, old-fashioned musical theatre – a fun evening admirably transported from Lake Neusiedler to the comfort of our firesides.