Dom Sebastien, Roi De Portugal, Royal Opera House, London

Portugal's 24-year-old monarch survives near-death in Morocco, only to succumb to the intrigues of his covetous family and Spanish neighbour, Philip II, who "eyes the country's riches like a vulture".

The cross-cultural love element is strong, and despite some decline latterly into formulae - albeit dazzling ones - Donizetti's music early on sounds sensational: it has maturity emblazoned on it. His inventive orchestration is out of this world. The overture electrifies, not least because its funereal timbres sound so much like Mahler.

One of Scribe's inspired wheezes was to introduce Portugal's national poet, Camoëns, as a key figure in the plot, who joins the foreign crusade and almost orchestrates the king's escape. Italian baritone Carmelo Corrado Caruso brought such poignancy to his nostalgic aria, O Lisbon, ma patrie - a real show stopper - that he justly drew one of the evening's biggest accolades. Plenty were due.

Mark Elder, doughty champion of neglected Italian opera led with fire and phlegm, coaxing from a marvellously on-form Royal Opera House orchestra and chorus (the men excelled).

Covent Garden served up a clutch of electrifying leads, plus solid support roles. Dom Sébastien was sung with a youthful passion by the beautifully articulate young tenor Giuseppe Filianoti. His is a voice one could listen to endlessly.

Sébastien's African muse was sung by the profoundly affecting Bulgarian mezzo Vesselina Kasarova, whose range of luscious, velvety timbres was matched by an acute dramatic intelligence that showed in every phrase: when Zayda mouthed the word "mourir", you knew it meant curtains.

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