Barton has the stillness, the tonal range and the imaginative and emotional commitment these songs demand. Perfectly judged – she managed the empty desolation of Mein Herz ist müde and the passionate anguish of Sonne der Liebe alike. Der Abschied deserves a review to itself: it was wonderful.

Baron projects an incredibly dark and cynical voice, each powerful high note piercing like an arrow, forcefully filling the entire opera house.

Sonically glorious and emotionally powerful, a crème de la crème of present-day Wagnerian singers. Barton commanded a sumptuous mezzo, gorgeous even in chest voice.

Barton had both the singing voice and stage presence – including an unsurpassable witch's cackle – to make the opera's third act an enthralling culmination. She could skip easily and quickly between high-voiced mellifluousness and child-tempting outer facade and her deep-voiced murderous and ravenous true nature.

Barton is a magnificent harpy, cold and frozen as Lake Cocytus in the Inferno. She could be the evil stepmother in a gothic horror, dripping attitude and bereft of any familial feeling. She’s chilling…and delicious.

Barton’s splendid voice and commanding stage presence powerfully brought out Sister Helen’s dogged determination to connect with De Rocher.

Nothing stayed in the background, of course, with the powerful American mezzo Jamie Barton, famous waver of the Pride rainbow flag at the Last Night of the Proms in 2019. Each of her three numbers struck a different musical note.

The soloists sang with freedom, flair and excitement; you could hear them putting their personal stamps on each number. Barton’s swaggering zeal, accompanied by visual imagery from generations of gay protest marches, felt downright inspirational.

Most striking about Barton’s interpretation of the role was the character’s vulnerability, made possible through her soft-pedaling of Amneris’s vicious side. Her Amneris was still spiteful, but one understood her jealousy and outrage more.

Barton brought a terrifically full voice and overflowing heart to Nettie Fowler.