to his Act 3 aria, "Scintille, diamant."

But the real triumph of the evening was the company debut of mezzo-soprano Angela Brower as the Muse and Nicklausse, in a phenomenal display of dramatic power and lush vocal prowess. Brower was a late replacement for the great Alice Coote, but this was no second-best contribution. Here's hoping for her swift return to San Francisco.

The rest of the large cast included a number of fine contributions, particularly Steven Cole's funny series of character tenor bits, James Creswell's ardent debut as Antonia's father, Crespel, and Thomas Glenn's turn as the mad scientist Spalanzani. The singers of Ian Robertson's Opera Chorus acquitted themselves admirably throughout.forces are taking high casualties.

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After suffering horrific bloodshed in 2018, Kabul has in recent weeks enjoyed something of a lull in violence.

But on Monday three US Marines were killed in a Taliban attack at Bagram air base north of the city, and authorities in the capital are on high alert.

The US has held several rounds of talks with the Taliban in a bid to bring an end to the war against the fighters. The group has repeatedly refused to meet with Ghani’s government calling it a “puppet” of the West.

Another round of negotiations are expected to take place later this month in Qatar where the Taliban have a political office, and will include representatives from a variety of Afghan groups.

An Afghan delegation who are not part of the