The recent death of former Glyndebourne chairman Sir George Christie cast a shadow over the start of the 2014 season, but gloomy thoughts would have been quickly dispelled by Richard Jones’s eye-catching production of Richard Strauss’s popular opera.

Jones hits us right from the start, as we see the Marschallin, not lying in bed, but naked in the shower. The production expertly marries the comic with the dramatic with all of Jones’s trademark touches: the clashing primary colours (excellent work from Paul Steinburg and costume designer Nicky Gillibrand), the use of masks, the choreographed chorus, the little touches of black humour.

The production has a hallucinatory, dreamlike quality, and look, there’s Sigmund Freud, hanging about in the chorus – in company with Strauss himself, whose picture hangs on the wall of the Marschallin’s house.

There are vocally rich performances from Lars Woldt, who captures the bumptiousness of the lecherous baron, Kate Royal’s Marschallin and a touching Sophie from Teodora Gheorghiu.

The real star of the evening, however, was Robin Ticciati, making his debut as musical director, coaxing a superlative performance from the orchestra. One likes to think Sir George would have approved.