At first sight, this double bill is an odd choice for Opera North, given that - unlike many continental companies - it boasts no dance ensemble of its own.

But so much opera relies on a dance component that we may be grateful for the (albeit temporary) presence here of a dozen hoofers with a choreographer/director, Aletta Collins, who knows her operatic onions.

Not that her efforts in the two pieces are equally successful. Stravinsky's ballet cantata relies on movement to depict marriage in old Russia. But dance needs space.

With percussion across the back of the stage, and chorus, soloists and pianos fronting them, the dancers are left with a relatively shallow strip in which to evoke the ecstasy and folklore of ancient rites.

Necessary caution undermines their efforts.

Nicholas Kok tries to drive the rhythms. Percussion responds firmly, but the pianos carry less well. Only two of the soloists really dig into the Russian: soprano Gweneth-Ann Jeffers and tenor John Graham Hall.

With the dancers hardly differentiating the wedding preparations from the ceremony itself, we are left in a theatrical no man's land.

Dance is also a vital element in Purcell's Dido. Here Collins makes the most of her opportunities. Whether as sailors or witches, the dancers convince: cleaner, smoother movement is much more persuasive.

Susan Bickley is a vocally ravishing Dido. She needs to be. Giles Cadle's plain set is unprepossessing, and dimly lit, with only the changes in a dominant moon to signal emotional flux.

She is unhelpfully aged by a wig that looks like one. But her phrasing is silky and her mezza voce heart-rending. Hers is real torment.

Adam Green's Aeneas reacts as if genuinely moved, more flesh and blood than is usually found in this role. His baritone grows in stature with every appearance.

Amy Freston's solicitous Belinda is right on the mark and Clarissa Meek brings great clarity to her menacing Sorceress.

The on-stage chorus is taut and neat, and Kok's chamber orchestra makes a pretty decent stab at sounding like a period ensemble.