An airport may seem an odd choice of milieu in which to set an opera, but in Jonathon Dove’s Flight it becomes a microcosm of modern society with all its human foibles.

Flight is a highly successful amalgam of operatic forms and technique, adhering to an approachable and often familiar melodic structure with its references to Bernstein’s jazzy rhythms and the minimalism of the likes of Adams and Glass. Since it was presented at an Adelaide Festival 20 years or so ago, ita has gone on to become the most often performed of modern operas worldwide, the most performed English language opera this side of Britten’s Peter Grimes.

State Opera South Australia’s Flight. Photo © Andrew Beveridge

Dove certainly writes well for the voice – in solo, duet and group settings. The closing quintet to Act I is a fine homage to the likes of Rossini and Verdi, but April De Angelis’ English libretto is where things fall flat.

De Angelis’ insistence on rhyming couplets tends to jar after a while (which reminds us of the old maxim that opera is...