David Bates and Lucy Crowe have a long acquaintance with each other and the fiendish and charismatic heroines of Handel and Mozart. They brought their considerable talents to bear on a stunningly composed programme of operatic arias and serenades at St John’s Smith Square in London on this cold November night …

This is the first version of Gluck’s opera, composed for Vienna in 1762, complete on one CD: not quite penny plain, as David Bates has included the ‘Dance of the Blessed Spirits’ from the Paris version of 1774. It comes from Pentatone, Gramophone’s 2019 Label of the Year, and it’s very fine. It’s hard to believe that it was recorded live, as there’s not a peep from the audience: no coughing, no applause.