As music director of Opera Australia, it is not surprising that Richard Hickox should want to make recordings with that excellent company. He has made a bold choice in Dvo?ák’s last and greatest opera, Rusalka, when there is a near-definitive version available on Decca with a mainly Czech cast and the Czech Philharmonic conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras. Yet even in face of such competition there is a strong case for his new version from Chandos.

Cheryl Barker may not have so creamily beautiful a voice as Renée Fleming but she sounds more aptly girlish and fresh. Her big Act 1 solo, the “Invocation to the Moon”, flows far more easily than in Fleming’s very beautiful but very expansive version (4'50" against 6'25"), an obvious advantage. Tenor Rosario La Spina as the Prince is younger-sounding, more virile and more expressive than the Heldentenor Ben Heppner on Decca. As for Hickox, he conducts this magical score with a bite that brings out the elements so closely related to the Slavonic Dances, and the recording, made live in the Sydney Opera House (a difficult venue), is clean and fresh.

The Australian cast, singing in Czech, sounds totally in tune with the Dvorák idiom, with each singer matching up to his or her Decca counterpart. Bruce Martin as the Water Goblin may not have so rich or well focused a voice as Franz Hawlata on Decca, but his is a strong and characterful performance, and as the witch Jezibaba, Anne-Marie Owens is satisfyingly rich and fruity, where her Decca counterpart is relatively thin-toned. There is also a gain in that this has been recorded live from a stage production, notably in the thrilling conclusion of the second act. Surprisingly, Renée Fleming in Act 2 is less assured than in the other acts, while Cheryl Barker is consistent throughout, and her performance culminates in a deeply moving account of Rusalka’s final solo, with a thrilling build-up.

A final choice must remain marginal, but anyone who wants a new-minted version of one of the most magical of all operas – with the harp signalling the other-worldly magic of Rusalka as Water Nymph, more atmospherically recorded than on Decca – this new Chandos version makes an excellent choice.