Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is the latest operatic dame to move to Sussex. She follows in the footsteps of Dames Josephine Barstow and Felicity Lott.

On Friday, Dame Kiri made her Dome debut when she wowed a jam-packed auditorium in which the audience had paid up to £40 a seat to hear her.

This was for a Dame Kiri in serious form. No Gershwin, no crossover, just straight opera. This was an evening of classical song with only a piano for accompaniment.

This Dame is probably the world's best loved, and certainly best-known, diva. She was watched by millions around the world when she sang at Prince Charles' wedding and she has rarely been out of the public eye and ear since.

Dressed in a black, sequinned gown over which she wore a shocking pink pashmina, she dominated the vast Dome.

She immediately united the audience by asking for a minute's silence in memory of the Queen Mother.

From the very first, a selection of three songs by Vivaldi, you could see why she was such a hit when she made her debut in Mozart's The Marriage Of Figaro in the Seventies.

Vivaldi was something of a departure for Dame Kiri who is best known for her recordings and recitals of works by Mozart, Richard Strauss and Puccini.

But she acquitted herself well, easily catching the sometimes slightness of Vivaldi's tunes and showing her technique is as fine, and as gentle, as it ever was.

And so to Mozart.

Four of his songs, including the sublimely expressive Surge Of Joy, which was written as a replacement aria for Susannah in Figaro, were sublimely delivered.

This was a joy for her and the audience. Her phrasing was meticulous, her voice soaring and even angelic. Mozart can always capture my heart and Kiri singing Mozart did just that.

But the real highlight was in a group of four early songs by Richard Strauss. Strauss may still be too modern for some listeners - he died in 1945 - but this group came from the beginning of his career around the time of his marriage.

Serenade, Tomorrow, The Band Of Roses and Dedication were given a definitive reading. Tomorrow, was heartrendingly beautiful in execution and gave accompanist Julian Reynolds a chance to really display his many skills.

In this section, Dame Kiri was lyrical, passionate and on top form.

Her voice is now well suited to modern work: She did great work with some songs by Henri Duparc, who died in 1933, and was equally at home on Flowers Of Argentina, a five-song title by Carlos Guastavino, who died two years ago.

In this cycle, Kiri showed off some of her noted humour in her use of Latin and jazz rhythms inherent in this work. Here, she dazzled and delighted.

She ended her recital with two Puccini arias, Anna's flower aria from Le Villi and Mimi's first aria from La Boheme.

Dame Kiri is an impressive singer, fully deserving of her reputation and fame. And in this recital, she showed another rare talent: The ability to make you believe she was singing just for you.