The big glasses are back! In a style era dominated by perfectly sighted celebrities sporting specs for no reason at all, it is surely time to salute the myopic Greek songbird who made her name when glasses were considered an affliction rather than the latest must-have accessory, though Liam Gallagher wouldn't be seen dead in the big, black-rimmed bottle-ends she sports for her first British concert in 12 years.
Mouskouri's favourite subject is love, which, in the manner of an entertainer proficient in six European languages, she pronounces "hlov". Perfectly preserved in what appear to be a set of sparkly pyjamas, she explains that she is here to thank her British fans for 40 years of loyalty and hlov; and launches into a souped-up, cabaret arrangement of Hlov Changes Everything. Her multinational approach has sold more than 200m albums worldwide, recorded in over a dozen languages, including Corsican and Hebrew. Recently she has been busy as an ambassador for Unicef and as Greek deputy to the European Parliament, for which she drafted a report on artists' royalties and the internet.
After the absence of a decade, the singer, whose remarkably inclusive repertoire stretches from Bizet to the Beatles, is back to find out if we still need her now she's 64. The answer, from a packed hall of expectant Nana-raks, is resoundingly affirmative, though they must be transported as much by memories as her performance.
Though still revealing flashes of radiance, the voice is really a bit of a ruin, wandering uncertainly through its various registers like a badly tuned radio. None the less, now that Andy Williams, Dean Martin and other doyens of easy listening have been rebranded as cool for consumption by an audience young enough to be their grandchildren, there must be a place for Nana's insouciant brand of music to watch guys by.
After three hours on stage - what astonishing stamina! - she concludes the show, surreally, with Beethoven's Ode to Joy. She basks in her audience's undiminished hlov. And the scrum of well-wishers attempting to get backstage finally proves the adage: "Men do wave passes at girls who wear glasses."
• At Nottingham Royal Concert Hall (0115-989 5555), tonight, then touring.
