And still they come, the Covid projects. Why record them? It’s understandable that during the period of social distancing, the conductor Fabrice Bollon saw a need to reduce the orchestra of The Cunning Little Vixen to a suitably spaced 12 players. And it’s easy to see a bright future for his arrangement with touring and chamber opera companies for whom space or budget precludes a full orchestra. The question is why anyone (unless you’re planning such a performance, or have a particular interest in Bollon and this cast) would want to acquire a scaled-down, faute de mieux Vixen on disc when so many excellent full-scale versions are available. It’s not as if Naxos’s price is especially competitive these days.

Well, it is what it is; and in truth it’s beautifully done. Bollon’s orchestration uses string and wind quintets plus keyboards and percussion. Apparently he tried to incorporate brass but couldn’t make it work, and having heard a distinctly raucous ‘chamber’ Vixen during the pandemic which did include trumpet and horn, I reckon Bollon has made the right call. He blends the colours of his ensemble so skilfully that Janáček’s writing loses none of its warmth or earthiness, with tuned percussion adding the necessary brightness and bite, and giving a lovely sunset glow to the Forester’s final soliloquy.

Bollon’s reading is slightly faster overall than my old favourite Mackerras (Decca, 5/82, 11/86), but it doesn’t feel like it. There’s a real lyricism to this reading; lilting and conversational among the humans in the inn, and filled with moments of transparent, luminous tenderness. The flirtatious lightness of the Vixen’s first encounter with her future beloved is just one of many magical passages. It would be dishonest to pretend that every scene has the force of the original, and there are moments – Act 1’s henhouse carnage; the Vixen’s death – where you do miss the full weight of Janáček’s orchestra.

But it’s very attractive on its own terms and it certainly drew me in – helped by a fresh-sounding cast who seem wholly invested in the project. Michael Borth is a young and handsome-sounding Forester – no autumnal melancholy here – and Samantha Gaul, as the Vixen, is comparably vibrant, with a tingling, slightly tangy edge to her voice that plays delightfully off Irina Jae-Eun Park’s more full-bodied Fox. The smaller parts – the insects, birds and animals – have charm to spare, with characterful choral singing and Petar Naydenov endearingly gruff as both Badger and Parson. It was recorded at the 2021 Bergstadtsommer Festival but the acoustic is excellent and the audience (if there is one) is inaudible. Naxos supplies no libretto, which is reprehensible, but since this should be no one’s first (or only) recording of this opera, we’ll let them off with a caution.

Bollon provides two generous and highly original fillers. His own paraphrase of Janáček’s Šárka condenses the opera’s three acts into a 20-minute duet for violin and cello: a crunchy, red-blooded tour de force on a par (technically at least) with Kodály’s Duo, Op 7. It receives a passionately committed performance from Muriel Cantoreggi and Dina Fortuna-Bollon. Then comes Twelve Lilies for Leoš, a sort of combined chamber concerto and extended rhapsody on themes by Janáček (from Taras Bulba and Osud, among others), composed by Bollon for the same 12-piece Vixen ensemble. It’s a fascinating taste of Bollon’s own creative voice, combining minimalist rhythmic drive with a vivid sense of instrumental colour, and Janáček enthusiasts will have fun spotting all those upcycled themes. These are premiere recordings (both works were composed in 2021), and if you like the sound of them they’d justify purchase in their own right.