The two most gripping excerpts here are, to my mind, Les oiseaux dans la charmille from Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann (from 1993) and Ophelia's mad scene from Thomas' Hamlet (from 2003). The DVD presents three performances of the former number, from 1993, 1996 and 2000, and each is excellent, demonstrating Dessay's easy coloratura and alert eye for physical drama. The performance from 1993 does, however, provide an unusual and fascinating interpretation of the aria. Here, Olympia is not a doll but a mental patient, carried shyly onstage in a metal cage. Soon she will step from it, gaining in confidence as she progresses: the suggestion is of the liberating power of music, and Dessay fully immerses herself in the interpretation, bringing to her vocal lines a sense of spontaneity and gradually accumulating feverous joy. One could also comment on her gorgeous tone and lack of vocal strain.

The mad scene from Hamlet, meanwhile, is dramatically intense, the fading sets complementing Dessay's broken, hallucinatory interpretation. The singer's self-harm with a knife is shocking; by the end of the performance, she is strewn pathetically on the ground, her body contorted and her voice struggling to emerge smoothly, the vocal struggle mirroring the character's emotional collapse. It is horrific and mesmerising, and it earns a raucous ovation.

The DVD boasts many other treasures. Watch the performance of Glitter and be gay from Bernstein's Candide: Dessay's French accent is distracting, and the lower and middle registers can be oddly strained, but the high lying lines and coloratura are astoundingly easy. This performance also fully revels in the aria's comic potential. The excerpts from Mozart's Magic Flute find Dessay bringing a pure lyricism and introspection to the Queen of the Night: the ease of delivery is ingratiating, but O Zittre nicht can lack some character and Dessay's flailing arms distract in Der Hölle Rache. The Strauss performances are fascinating also, Dessay perhaps lacking some vocal heft, but providing completely convincing characterisations and thrilling, virtuosic vocal delivery.

Before each performance on the disc, one has the option to watch Natalie Dessay speak about the role, but it is hardly worth it: the information given is limited and the camera presents the singer as if she were an oil painting, focusing continually on her deep, fixating eyes and lipsticked lips. An air of celebrity is apparent.

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