Vinicio Capossela may still be little-known in the UK, but in Italy he is acquiring the status of his early hero Paolo Conte as the country's best-known musical maverick, thanks to a style that echoes anything from Tom Waits to the rock theatrics of early Genesis. This was the British premier of Marinai, Profeti e Balene (Sailors, Prophets and Whales), a lengthy, sprawling sea-faring concept work that matches his fascination with Herman Melville's novels to surreal stories filled with references to anything from Ulysses to the Bible. Translations were thankfully provided for the few non-Italian speakers in the audience. The wildly varied songs were sometimes thrilling, sometimes patchy, but the set and lighting were consistently dramatic.

The stage was decorated with giant, moving whale ribs, within which the band performed, and Capossela came on to the sound of whale noises, looking like a demented sea captain in a black hat, the first of several theatrical props. The epic opening featured ships' bells and a sampled choir, then a doom-laden speech in English in which he talked of Noah, Conrad's Heart of Darkness and the financial crisis, before launching into Billy Budd, a stomping sea shanty matched with wailing guitar. Then he kept changing direction, performing the songs in a different order to the new double album, with his often intimate vocals backed by a band that included anything from a wailing theremin to saw and concertina. There were echoes of anything from jazz and ragtime to folk tunes and light opera, along with wild, demented passages, imitations of his hero Waits, and lyrical songs such as Le Pleiadi, for which he switched from guitar to piano.

Capossela's entertaining new work lasted 90 minutes, but he continued for an hour's worth of uneven encores. He needs a more structured approach – but deserves a following outside Italy.