Love is a battle. It causes no end of conflict, torture, rage, hate. Its weapons work like poisoned darts. It unsettles everything.

That is how Handel portrayed the battle of the sexes in Partenope. He dressed it in terms of power politics at the court of a classical queen and gave it a comic-ironic veneer, but the underlying truths are the same. As Amanda Holden's witty translation for English National Opera observes, "love is more dull if contented, more interesting if tormented". The doubters need only listen to Handel's music, because as in so many of his operas, he illuminated the irrational (sexual attraction) with the irrational (sublime arias). In doing so he offered a mirror not just to privileged Londoners of his time - he wrote Partenope for the King's Theatre, Haymarket, in 1730 - but to 21st century audiences everywhere.

It is a sign of how far the Handel revolution has come that an opera as little known as Partenope should enter the repertory of a metropolitan opera house - aided here by a cast of British singers who are all, bar one, renowned Handelians. What they prove, with the conductor Christian Curnyn and stage director Christopher Alden, is that while Partenope may not be one of Handel's great operas, it is brilliantly varied and entertaining.

Alden, with his designers Andrew Lieberman (sets), Jon Morrell (costumes) and Adam Silverman (lighting), encourages us to view the opera through the camera lens of 1920s Surrealism. The way Man Ray manipulated photography to illuminate the psyche becomes, in Alden's hands, a metaphor for the way Handel used music to illuminate the heart. Partenope becomes a Nancy Cunard/Louise Brooks lookalike, surrounded by self-regarding 1920s socialites with nothing better to do than obsess about their sexual whims over cards, bedtime drinks and breakfast cereal. It is deftly achieved, not least because Alden respects Handel's deepening of mood.

Rosemary Joshua sings Partenope with charm, delicacy and a finely drawn line. Patricia Bardon is the exceptionally touching Rosmira, Iestyn Davies an unexpectedly strong Armindo, Christine Rice a beautifully sustained Arsace. John Mark Ainsley's Emilio dominates in style and presence; James Gower shows promise as Ormonte. Curnyn's crisp, fluent conducting gauges the acoustic perfectly.

Tel 0871 911 0200