It’s been 20 years since Alaskan-born mezzo-soprano Vivica Genaux graced our shores, so bringing her out as the vocal headliner for this year’s Brisbane Baroque is a savvy move. Since her official Aussie debut back then (she played Rosina in Perth – arias in Italian, recitative in English), she’s surely but steadily climbed the hill of vocal stardom and, thanks to a string of acclaimed recordings, is now twinkling brightly in the operatic firmament.

For her Brisbane concert she chose an all-Vivaldi programme, a useful reminder that for all his 600-odd concertos, the Red Priest was primarily known in his day as a leading opera composer and impresario. The arias on display (and a ‘display’ it surely is) are all from works written within five years, from 1732 until 1737, the fertile final flourish of Vivaldi’s 25-year operatic career. They show a composer embracing the public taste for Neapolitan opera seria, yet still pushing his particular brand of colourful orchestration and vocal flamboyance.

Genaux has stage presence in spades. Blessed with looks, lustrous dark hair, and plenty of va-va-voom, she drew admiring gasps for her striking gowns in both halves, before...