As I looked around me at shining gold and plush red velvet - and glittering chandeliers - and myriad lights reflecting in the windows of the Floral Hall, I thought about all the lovely evenings I have spent here.

Feeling the same thrill as the curtain went up every time. Thinking that a night at the opera hasn't changed in more than 250 years ...

Even if Così Fan Tutte is now described as a 'Sex in the City triumph' with portraits saved on iPhones and, OMG, the marriage contract is drawn up on a laptop.

Don't you think that Mozart would have loved it?