In September 2020, the Royal Opera House in London finally welcomed back its musicians to perform together for the first time since lockdown began six months earlier. What was always going to be a joyous event was also an unprecedented one, with beautiful, purpose-built staging helping the artists obey social distancing rules. Setting the suitably sunny tone is a fizzing performance of the Overture to Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro performed, from the stalls, by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano. What follows is pure magic, as stars including tenor Charles Castronovo, baritone Gerald Finley, and soprano Kristine Opolais perform thrilling arias by Rossini, Verdi, Donizetti, Offenbach, and more. Adding spine-tingling surround-sound support is the wonderful Royal Opera Chrous, spread out throughout the auditorium. The evening is wittily and stylishly presented by the BBC’s Katie Derham, whose interviews with Pappano and his invited guests give us fascinating insights into their art, and the challenges of staging such an ambitious evening.