"I love you all!" she hollers, and leaves.As the house lights come up, 2,000 patient, indulgent fans are left standing there, bewildered and betrayed, wondering where their encore went, and feeling justifiably short-changed And that, I'm afraid, is a serious misdemeanour.. Die Entf?ng aus dem Serail A fter a five-year break, Elijah Moshinsky's 1987 production of Mozart's Turkish fantasy Die Entf?ng aus dem Serail has returned to Covent Garden. With a splash of cymbals and a flurry of chadors, the rank odour of Wednesday's hot city streets was replaced by attar of roses, cardamom and sweet mint tea. This delicate, light-hearted tale of lovers separated and reunited may not have much to say about the culture clash between Europe and Africa (or Christianity and Islam) or the history of the Ottoman Empire, but it does show a universal vulnerability to Cupid's dart.

Never mind the weather, summer has officially begun. The first thing to say about this revival of Entf?ng is how brilliantly characterised the orchestral playing is. Sir Charles Mackerras's deft, sensitive interpretation re-evaluates and illuminates the score of this apparently facile work and fully exploits the vivid vocal and orchestral styles that would reach their apotheosis in Mozart's other great exotic opera, The Magic Flute.The energy and propulsion of his blisteringly fast allegros are offset perfectly by the breadth of luxuriant, perfumed lyricism in the slower movements. The colours are precise and definite, tangy and flavoursome; an irrestible mezze of capricious instrumentation. And behind the tinkling bells, the squealing piccolos, the slapstick comedy, the fezzes and the fly-swats, there's a strong element of pathos in the lonely figure of Pasha Selim: a character whose cultural and emotional isolation is underlined by the fact that he does not sing but only speaks.With musicianship of such a high standard coming from the pit, it's hardly surprising that the singing was less commanding of attention. That the mostly young cast has been chosen for their ability to blend in the luminous trio and quartet writing is, as far as I'm concerned, a good thing. But there are plenty of Entf?ng devotees for whom the main attraction is the daredevil aria Martern aller Arten; Konstanze's masochistic paean to virginity at all costs.

Under happier circumstances the quick-silver coloratura soprano Christine Sch?r would be the ideal Konstanze, but her first-night singing was compromised by what sounded like incipient pharyngitis and a bronchial infection and her signature clarity of tone was veiled on the rapid succession of top Ds Poor thing. Sch?r's singing is normally far more interesting than mere hoop-jumping can reveal (unlike many a coloratura soprano, she can act and phrase too) but with fioritura and tessitura like these to deal with on the technical side, she had to leave any word-painting for the less showy moments. Let's hope she recovers quickly.As Belmonte, the archetypal mellifluous Mozartian tenor hero, Kurt Streit sang superbly, looking and sounding more relaxed than ever before. I still find his held notes to have a strangely synthetic quality but his phrasing was sweet and his tone easy. Konstanze's side-kick Blonde (Caroline Stein) had a winning, flirtatious presence and used the harmonies of the ensembles to great effect. Hers is a hefty, glossy voice in the making ­ more of a Dorabella than a Blonde ­ but she's yet to achieve control of it.