Pountney’s controversial staging of Purcell’s dramatic masque‚ or ‘semi­opera’‚ caused something of a furore when it first appeared at the ENO in 1995. Its zany‚ gag­a­minute actions call to mind the music hall and/or jokey‚ end­of­pier pantomime‚ reinterpreted through modern eyes. It includes a deal of cross­dressing‚ female and male impersonation‚ and antics brilliantly choreographed by Quinney Sacks. As ever with Pountney‚ some of this seemed theatrically thrilling at the time‚ the rest blatantly and unnecessarily coarse. It is un­doubtedly a lavish entertainment and too many centuries have passed to know if Purcell would have approved of Pountney’s take on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He attempts to bring it into the world of the musical‚ responding in his own‚ idiosyncratic way to the words of the spoken Prologue to the work’s original‚ 1693 production. Pountney dispenses entirely with the dialogue‚ concocting in its place a scenario of his own based on the struggle between Oberon and Titania for possession of an Indian boy. The action is predominantly danced and includes odd references to Shakespeare’s play. Most of the score is preserved in authentic mode (Clifford Bartlett’s scholarly edition)‚ but the solos are distributed in a manner not quite of the composer’s choice. The costumes (Dunya Roaiocova) roam across the centuries‚ including Victorian formality and modern punk. In spite of some fine singing from the likes of Kenny (Titania)‚ Randle (Oberon) and Chance‚ the music tends to take second place to the action and is inconsistent in execution. Jonathan Best tries too hard as the ubiquitous Drunken Poet and ends up being a bore. Nicholas Kok is the brisk‚ astute conductor. The ENO Orchestra play in sprightly fashion. The 16:9 widescreen format is used to arresting effect by video director Barrie Gavin‚ and the sound presentation is excellent. As usual‚ ArtHaus Musik is cavalier and often inaccurate in its booklet. For the most part‚ it fails to say who is singing what‚ and offers a poor introduction to the work. Could do better in support of its expertly managed visual wares.