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Leaving behind penguin suits and hamper lunches in favor of accessible pricing and relaxed elegance, the opera house's autumn program began with Floris Visser's stylish production of La Bohème. Expertly revived by Rachael Hewer, this staging not only looks stunning but also honors Puccini's classic weepy while discovering fresh ways to raise goosebumps.

Evocative Set Design and Atmosphere

Dieuweke van Reij's stage design – a symbolic path to the afterlife – serves for all each acts, with more than a nod to Brassaï's noirish 1930s Paris imagery. Bare walls and shiny paving stones are stunningly lit by Alex Brok, while Jon Morrell's monochrome costumes ooze couture. Visser's artists occupy a sort of liminal space, a world of mists, gendarmes, and sex workers, where the ghost of Death stalks the streets with the tubercular Mimì clearly in his gaze.

An eerily effective device, played with consummate stillness by Christopher Lemmings.

Whenever Aida Pascu's tormented seamstress enters, Death is there, a pallid figure in black, sitting and gazing. Rodolfo intuits him, perhaps, but Mimì increasingly notices and dreads him. He pops up as the toy-maker Parpignol, this time grasping an ominous cluster of blood-red balloons. When the couple vow they will not part until the blossoms return in springtime, he pulls aside a tarpaulin to show them already in bloom. Mimì's final, tormented cry of “Come here, my love” is spoken not to Rodolfo but to Death himself.

Precise and Aesthetically Pleasing Scenes

Visser paints exact and optically alluring tableaux. His endearing students engage in lively roughhousing that for once is well-choreographed and clear to watch. The public square buzzes with energy; Café Momus excels at humorous serving staff; crooked policemen overlook to the business of the local prostitutes.

High Performance Quality

In the pit, musical standards are excellent. Adam Hickox, son of the late Richard Hickox, has obviously inherited the conducting gene, providing an incisive account of Puccini's music that's keenly attentive. A palpable, well-judged elasticity heightens the dramatic tension without ever becoming syrupy. The Glyndebourne Sinfonia reacts enthusiastically, as do the lively Glyndebourne Chorus and the youthful voices of Glyndebourne Youth Opera.

Standout Acting

Pascu's pitiable Mimì is a tender creation, wan, agitated, and desperately fragile. Her soprano has just the right degree of mid-register richness, although high pitches could use a little more strength. Andrés Agudelo's Rodolfo doesn't always spark. His voice blossoms and wanes, sometimes within the same line, and he's inclined to resort to standard operatic movements.

Aksel Daveyan's vocal confidence brightens his otherwise taciturn Marcello, making him an superb foil for Camilla Harris's confident, spirited, and ever-so chic Musetta. Markus Suihkonen excels as Colline, his performance climaxing in a touching Coat Aria, with Darwin Prakash a resonant, puckish Schaunard and Darren Jeffery turning in superb brief appearances as Benoît and Alcindoro.

• At Glyndebourne, until 2 November.