Soprano Anja Harteros is half German, half Greek and both halves contribute to the performer that stands on stage. Her looks and mass of black hair betray the Greek blood; her education and musical formation are entirely German, reflected in her choice of Haydn, Berg, Brahms and Strauss.

This was not an adventurous programme, but it was all the stronger for allowing her highly refined interpretive instincts to come to the fore, and for affording the opportunity to admire the supremely expressive playing of pianist Helmut Deutsch.

The simple charm of the Four Canzonette by Haydn belies their difficulty and, though certainly not the easiest option in terms of settling the voice, Harteros showed immediately that she has the lieder singer's ability to draw the listener into an intimate world entirely removed from the artifice and mechanics of effect.

The voice is clear, with a pretty vibrato, sweet but carrying a timbre that gives it a subtle emotional edge. The drama is there too, as became clear in the contrasting Haydn work, the Scena di Berenice. She delivered the recitative with an urgency and directness, and the slow aria with a lovely sustained tone. It was clear why Harteros, who makes her Met debut next season, is already in demand as a Mozart soprano.

It was the playing of Deutsch that, in just a few bars of the opening of Berg's Seven Early Songs, set the tone of the rest of the evening. He conjured the atmosphere of velvet night and an electric surge of feeling that was taken up by Harteros, transporting the listener to a different plane.

Harteros was evidently in her natural territory in the songs by Brahms and Richard Strauss. Her ability to lavish tone on key emotional points made this an absorbing performance, but again it was the magic of Deutsch, whose subtleties know no bounds, that offered the breathtaking moments.