They raised the roof!

Normally, an amazing display of coloratura or vocal acrobatics makes me smile or even laugh. I do it out of excitement and trepidation, knowing that the singer (or pianist, or violinist) might succeed or might not. When the virtuoso display is as outstanding as it was in this new production of La fille du régiment, however, laughter comes near to giving way to tears. With Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez and French soprano Natalie Dessay on stage, there is no reason to worry. Throughout the performance they made clear that everything was under control. Their voices sent a message to the audience: “sit back, relax and enjoy the flight”. And so we did!

However impressive, Dessay’s and Florez’s high-notes, thrills and coloratura, were not the only thing they gave us on Thursday. There were also carefully crafted phrases, full of nuances, and…