It is easy to make allowances for legacy artists whose voices, after 50 years or so in the business, may not be in tip-top shape. But no such allowances should or need to be made in the case of Gladys Knight – the aptly monikered ‘Empress of Soul’ – whose vocal splendours thrilled a packed audience at the Royal Albert Hall.

Knight was on astonishing form, bringing ferocious energy to ‘Come Back and Finish What You Started’ and ‘Love Overboard’, inhabiting the campy menace of Bond theme ‘Licence to Kill’, and delivering heartbreak ballad ‘Neither One of Us (Wants to be the First to Say Goodbye)’ with masterful phrasing. Her voice remains a treasure chest of delights, from pointed, tasteful inflections, exclamatory growls, and longer notes coloured with her distinctly fluid vibrato.

A seasoned veteran, Knight knows how to spot top-tier talent. Her stirring band provided propulsive arrangements of ‘I’ve Got to Use My Imagination’ and ‘I Heard it Through the Grapevine’. She also invited pianist Bryard Huggins to the stage as a special guest for renditions of The Beatles’ ‘Hey Jude’ and Queen’s ‘We Are the Champions’. Though an unexpected detour, Huggins’ virtuosity cannot be denied. Huggins also played beautifully and with striking polish when supporting Knight on ‘The Way We Were’.

There were some other curiosities in the curation of the set. Knight tag-teamed her impressive roster of backing vocalists for a lengthy gospel medley (climaxing with Tamela Mann’s ‘Take Me to the King’), delivered with feverish passion but at the expense of several well-known songs in Knight’s catalogue (for example, ‘If I Were Your Woman’, ‘Help Me Make it through the Night’, or ‘The Nitty Gritty’). The set also ended on an unexpectedly sedate note with a rendition of the jazz standard ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’.

But, even if the set was front-loaded with the hits, Knight’s vocal magic was consistent throughout. Touched by the audience reception, she thanked the crowd for supporting her music. “It’s real,” she quipped.