Ah, Italia '90…it had such a lot to answer for. Notwithstanding Gazza’s tears, we had to contend constantly with Puccini’s ‘Nessun Dorma’ accompanying every goal, not to mention every miss, not to mention, well, everything. Not that we necessarily minded it too much; it is, after all, a smashing piece of coruscating drama. But it is only one great moment in an opera packed with goose-pimple grandiosity. The question is, does the new Welsh National Opera production win out with a resounding ‘vincero’?

The short answer is yes, though not necessarily for the reasons you might expect. If you’re acquainted with the opera, you may be aware of its reputation as a grand spectacle of ‘Aida’ vintage, resplendent with exotic dress, replete with clichés about a mythologised China and dominated by an ice queen whose submission to the wiles of a mysterious stranger never seems entirely credible. The WNO have stripped away the Europe-does-Orient excess and chosen to concentrate on the crux of the matter: that love can indeed be victorious and all-powerful.

Though the move from an unspecified period of Chinese history to Mao’s republic might not be to everyone’s taste, there is no denying the directness and freshness of this production. Ensemble work is of a high standard; the roles of Ping, Pang and Pong are taken on with zest and produce some excellent interplay, while the climactic choruses shake the stage without being over-the-top. Calaf, the prince who finally wins over the cruel princess, is sung with ease and facility by Rafael Rojas, even if his stage presence is not always convincing, while the lesser roles of Timur and the Emperor are made as much of as is possible with their limited resources.

But it is the two female leads who really impress. Olga Mykytenko brings a tragic sensuality to the part of chaste slave-girl Liu, with heart-meltingly delicious phrasing in both her arias. She attracts the biggest ovation of the evening, though Francesca Patane is every bit as superb in the title role, relying on the potent expressiveness of her voice to fill the stage rather than titanic costumes. She makes Turandot’s reform at the end that little ounce more credible, because the potential warmth of the character is there from the start; her duet with Calaf is thus a tour de force of self-discovery, rather than a mere obligatory happy ending.

‘Turandot’ isn’t produced as often as ‘La Boheme’ or ‘Madam Butterfly’ because of the demands of its staging. The WNO, with characteristic flair, have got around this and come up with a challenging and broadly satisfying take on Puccini’s weirdest. Banish Gazza from your mind, brush up your Puccini and toddle off to the New Theatre on Friday to see whether you agree.