George Hall [Guardian, 10 July 2006]

Andrei Serban's production of Puccini's dark, oriental fairytale has been a staple at Covent Garden for more than 20 years. Once again neatly and effectively staged by Jeremy Sutcliffe, its vitality and spectacle continue to provide a strong visual frame for the score's alternately garish and delicate colours and its disturbing blend of blood-lust and eroticism.