Anna Netrebko effortlessly confirmed her status as prima donna assoluta, lavishing good, old-fashioned operatic magic on a very happy audience, bonbon by bonbon.
She waved to us during spotlit entrances and exits, and ever so playfully "intruded" on her husband, Yusif Eyvazov's Neapolitan encore.
From the start, the Russian soprano revealed why she is one of the great voices of today. Her Ritorna vincitor shaded its many shifting emotions to perfection, delivered with a roving, theatrical panache.
Other highlights, similarly inspired, included popular arias from La Wally and Rusalka.
The strong-voiced Eyvazov may not have matched Netrebko's tonal lustre, but he was a handsome stage animal, signing off Cavaradossi's final aria with a dramatic gasp for life.
