Here’s a question for trivia fans: romantic operas set in the English Midlands? Donizetti’s Il Castello di Kenilworth, possibly, or Sullivan’s Ivanhoe; perhaps, if your tastes are particularly adventurous, George Alexander Macfarren’s Robin Hood – engagingly recorded a few years back by Victorian Opera Northwest (Naxos, 1/12). Narrow the field to operas set in Staffordshire, and Macfarren surely holds the field alone. The Soldier’s Legacy is set in and around Tutbury in the Napoleonic era, and until this premiere recording from the ever-resourceful Retrospect Opera, I’m sure I can’t have been alone in being only dimly aware of its existence.

And in fairness, The Soldier’s Legacy is not a piece that imposes itself. Macfarren is – well, Macfarren: ‘no Edward Loder or Robert Pearsall or SS Wesley, with their exceptionally strong musical personalities’, writes Stephen Banfield in the (excellent) booklet notes. He can say that again. There’s nothing in this score (premiered one year before Tristan und Isolde) that would startle Mendelssohn. In fact, for long stretches the musical language would barely have surprised Haydn.

None of which prevents The Soldier’s Legacy from being melodious, warm-hearted and frequently playful, with an emotional range that suits its chamber scale and gentle pace. Adapted by Macfarren’s regular collaborator John Oxenford from a French comedy, it was intended for the pocket-size theatre at the Royal Gallery of Illustration, and Oxenford reduced the cast to four characters, stripping out various subplots in the process. He knew his business, no doubt, but it makes for a lot of rather laboured exposition (it gathers pace in the second act). Macfarren’s scoring is for piano alone, plus a harmonium which pops up once or twice to imitate the singing of a bullfinch, with charmingly reedy effect.

Indeed, charm is the keynote here, with the wartime setting adding an undertone of wistfulness (melancholy is too strong a word). The Widow Wantley (her connection, if any, with a famous operatic dragon is left unclear) ponders remarriage to the fiddler Christopher, who, meanwhile, has set his sights on the village belle Lotty. Matters are complicated by the arrival of handsome ex-soldier Jack Weatherall – quickly smitten by Lotty but bound to honour a vow to a fallen comrade. After the mildest imaginable storm (and I can testify that drizzle is more common than tempests on the Staffordshire/Derbyshire border) it all resolves itself happily, not to say perkily.

No one could call this demanding listening, and Retrospect Opera presents the whole show – dialogue and all – with great affection and style. Perhaps the tempos are a little steady (though pianist Jonathan Fisher is unfailingly sensitive); and there’s no serious attempt to make the spoken dialogue sound as if it’s part of a theatrical performance. It’s perfectly clear, though. Crucially, the four roles (all more or less equal in prominence) are delightfully characterised and attractively sung. Gaynor Keeble is a notably dignified Widow Wantley, Quentin Hayes (Christopher) is as rich and warming as a pint of Burton ale, and Joseph Doody brings real dash as Jack Weatherall.

Rachel Speirs as Lotty, meanwhile, has the sweetness of a true soubrette, and in some of the Act 2 ensembles – with all four singers forming a euphonious ensemble and Speirs sparkling up on top – they make an enjoyable case for this unassuming opera as more than the sum of its (pleasant enough) parts. Comprehensive booklet notes (with appropriate period images and a full libretto) complete a very attractive package.