Think of your favourite aria or duet – and the chances are it featured in London Festival Opera’s A Night at the Opera last week. This was an unashamed stroll through some of opera’s greatest hits, performed in period costume by a cast of distinguished singers from Glyndebourne, ENO, WNO and the Royal Opera, in a set that recreated the splendour of the Paris Opéra. The programme was cleverly designed to capture just about every emotion imaginable, from the dramatic intensity of Tosca, the passion of Carmen and the humour of The Barber of Seville, right through to the effervescent decadence of Die Fledermaus.

The opening ensemble, Libiamo, libiamo, ne’ lieti calici from La Traviata, seemed surprisingly subdued, considering this is supposed to be a party scene. But things gradually warmed up, and highlights of the first half included a lively rendition of Papageno’s song from The Magic Flute by Philip Blake-Jones, a smouldering Habanera from Carmen by Yvonne Fontaine, and Largo al factotum from The Barber of Seville, delivered with mischief and panache by David Stephenson.

In the second half, the dreamy Barcarolle from The Tales of Hoffman, gorgeously sung by Julie Unwin and Yvonne Fontaine, and the sublime Au fond du Temple Saint from The Pearl Fishers, sung with great sensitivity by David Stephenson and Philip O’Brien, were my personal high spots.

There were also a few surprises among the familiar songs, including numbers from Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades and Saint-Saëns’s Samson and Delila.

It all added up to a glorious mix of familiar delights and little-known gems, ensuring that the evening appealed both to opera connoisseurs and to newcomers, while Philip Blake-Jones’s informative and witty commentary, and the exquisite accompaniment by the onstage chamber ensemble, added greatly to the enjoyment. This was an exhilarating performance by first-rate singers and musicians; opera at its very best.