The success of last year’s Puccini Gala Concert was largely due to soprano Nicole Car, so Opera Australia has wisely brought her home again for two concerts that celebrate another favourite operatic composer.

This time the Paris-based Australian appears with her baritone husband Étienne Dupuis and Australian tenor Paul O’Neill, for a program that’s refreshingly light on Verdi’s greatest hits.

After conductor Alexander Briger and Orchestra Victoria open proceedings with the overture from The Force of Destiny, Car appears in a gorgeous chartreuse gown with voluminous skirt and tiny bodice.

This and her other two looks for the evening are eye-catching (indeed the finale’s purple satin creation is eye-popping), but they are eclipsed the moment she starts singing.

Nicole Car, Alexander Briger and Orchestra Victoria in Opera Australia’s Verdi Gala. Photo © Jeff Busby

Car’s voice is unfailingly clear and strong, with lovely tone and silky legato. What takes the soprano’s performance to even higher levels of excellence is her naturalistic expressiveness, both vocal and physical.

From Il Trovatore’s Leonora to Don Carlo’s Elisabetta, she is in tragic mode for most of The Verdi Gala Concert, and every time her interpretations go straight to...