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It was truly magnifique to welcome French period instrument orchestra Les Siècles and François-Xavier Roth to the BBC Proms for a highly perfumed programme of exotic sweetmeats.

Nezet-Seguin and his Philadelphians convey the brilliance and sophistication of France's undisputed "golden age" of classical music with works by six Parisian composers.

As the audience assembled in Roy Thomson Hall on Wednesday, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Members of the orchestra were taking their seats on the stage, getting ready to tune their instruments. However, anyone paying close attention to the setting would have seen a fixture hanging high above the stage.

As crowd-pulling operatic divas go, most of the attention goes to the sopranos. But a select number of mezzos have the same kind of following, and Latvia's Elina Garanča is high on that list. There are just a few roles where the mezzo is the main character of the opera (many of the others are "witches and bitches", as Garanča puts it), and the big one of those is Carmen.

À la tête de la phalange bordelaise, la jeune cheffe italo-turque dirige avec énergie et un agréable sens du partage un programme consacré à Saint-Saëns et Beethoven.

El tenor más esperado ofreció un Wagner soberbio mientras confirmaba las dudas sobre su versatilidad para otros repertorios.

François-Xavier Roth está consiguiendo con Les Siècles crear un sonido propio a partir de un culto preciosista a los matices y a la exactitud interpretativa. Su gesto dinámico y marcado encuentra en la formación un fiel reflejo que convierte cada obra en singular y sugerente.