From the team that brought us Messiah, another great masterpiece. The quirky wordsmith Charles Jennens and Handel, at the peak of his powers, produced also Belshazzar, with an unerring dramatic trajectory, a plethora of splendid choruses, and arias and duets that match anything in the better-known work.

The story of the blasphemous feast, with its "noisy idiot laugh" and "scurril taunt" (Jennens at his blustering finest), abruptly ended by enigmatic graffiti, was unfolded by the superb Orchestra and Choir of the Enlightenment under Charles Mackerras. It was an ideally paced performance, sweeping through the drama yet allowing the soloists to mould their phrases with affecting eloquence. Rosemary Joshua as Nitocris (Belshazzar's mother) evoked the "giddy dissipation" of the feast with some suitably extravagant ornamentation but was also nobly elegiac in the final act.

Two quite different counter-tenors took the stage: Iestyn Davies with an impeccably groomed voice as a fine Daniel; Bejun Mehta more vibrant and theatrical. Paul Groves hasn't the flexibility of tone to get around fast semiquavers: his Belshazzar seemed more ridiculous than perhaps intended. Robert Gleadow as Gobrias showed more promise as a Handelian. The OAE responded magnificently to Mackerras's spirited, authoritative direction. There was an outstanding contribution from a choral bass, William Gaunt.

www.bbc.co.uk/proms.