And he's been worth the wait for us, too. This, the penultimate phase of Phyllida Lloyd's injustly maligned staging of Wagner's Ring is an almost complete triumph, clarifying and advancing many of the ideas that have thus far made it as contentious as it is penetrating. The arrival of her superhero - the one, the only one, to brave the flames and release her from eternal sleep - has come not a minute too soon And he's been worth the wait for us, too. Our last sighting of the rebellious valkyrie Brunnhilde was at Glastonbury, a ring of fire between her and the clutches of licentious rockers. Cura restricted himself to three items, so that he did himself justice while managing not to upstage his colleagues. Conducting, he made a natural accompanist and shaped orchestral phrases persuasively on what must have been minimal rehearsal. Three Tenors fans had to wait for their fun and games until the encore gave them nine tenors in stirring unison, and sent them home buzzing and enlightened.. Ronald Samm may have been the least experienced, but he showed fire and dramatic presence in the death aria from Otello.All the others impressed in one item or another.

Most impressive of the Latins was Juan Carlos Valls, especially in his searching performance of a rare number from Cilea's L'Arlesiana. Kostyantyn Andreyev may have stuck to Puccini, but proved himself a better Italian stylist than the Latin contingent, and a more natural actor, too. Winner of two major competitions this year, he is very much the finished article, with superbly developed voice production and an electrifying ability to draw out long phrases.At the opposite extreme, Dmitri Korchak had the skill of heightening emotion through intensely quiet delivery, as well as a vibrant, dynamic dimension. One after another, in a briskly managed succession, they sang short arias, most coming back later for a second. Enjoyment ruled, not least among players of the Philharmonia who accompanied them.

Apart from normal male rivalry, it wasn't at all competitive, though a star of the night emerged in Woo-Kyung Kim, who brought the house down with excerpts from Macbeth and Carmen. You'd have been hard put to guess by listening alone who were the first choices and who were the last-minute substitutes.The experience was riveting because of the strange, glorious variety of personal sounds and techniques. One was ill, two double-booked, nobody quite knew what happened to the others. Never mind: this was an event run by hard-core enthusiasts, so they went out and got five more. Mystified members of the audience were greeted with a sheet in which performers and no-shows alike were named and, if appropriate (they know who they are), shamed. Some event it was, too. Jos?ura was the big draw, but he spent most of the time conducting The spotlight fell, as intended, on the other nine.