You get the feeling he liked it:Truly great performances of Verdi's La Traviata come along once in a generation, and this astonishing revival of Richard Eyre's 1994 Royal Opera production may well go down in history as one of the defining operatic experiences of our times. Conducted by Maurizio Benini, it stars Anna Netrebko as Violetta, Jonas Kaufmann as Alfredo and Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Germont. Giving three of the finest performances you will ever see, they challenge many of our most deeply held assumptions about this most familiar of operas.Blimey.

Mrs P and I are lucky enough to be going to this Sunday's performance. I can't wait.

Meanwhile, here is the amazing Anna Netrebko singing Dvorak's gorgeous Song to the Moon: