The Kirov Opera's visit to the Waterfront Hall in Belfast on Friday night was one of those occasions that fully lived up to any expectation you might have had of it. Provided, of course, the expectation was musically based.
The St Petersburg company's approach under Valery Gergiev was the antithesis of the star-led style that's so often encountered when opera crosses over to the concert hall. There was no shortage of excitement. The thrillingly incisive and crisp opening - Glinka's Russlan and Ludmilla Overture - laid down a marker in that regard. But there were no cheap thrills, no histrionics, no imposed dramatic flourishes.
Two scenes from Tchaikov sky's Mazeppa revealed that the singing was going to match the discipline and control of the orchestra, Nikolai Putilin in commanding form as Mazeppa, Tatiana Pavlovskaya and Lyudmila Shermchuk touching as the daughter and mother who will suffer from his actions.
The Letter Scene from Eugene Onegin (Pavlovskaya again), and the Coronation Scene from Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov made a strong impression in the second half. And the Kirov Chorus sang throughout the evening with a firmness and focus rare in opera.
The contribution of Valery Gergiev, architect of the Kirov's musical greatness, appeared almost self-effacing - a minimum of fuss producing maximum effectiveness. I don't think I've heard another choir or orchestra that quite matches their sense of elan. And with Gergiev guiding everything with an acute musical intelligence (the placing and pacing of climaxes was particularly telling) the evening was one of sheer musical joy from start to finish.
