Sometimes the hype and mystery surrounding an artist can be a distraction from their true talent but on the penultimate night of her 3 night residency in Manchester, Beyonce performed an energetic, exciting and rewarding show on her current Mrs Carter Tour.

The gig started off with a film that shows snippets of Milan cathedral, a Venetian carnival ball and Beyonce in full regalia and crown, quite apt really as the show is all about the spectacle.

'Run The World (Girls)' opens the show with Beyonce and her dancers appearing all dressed in white: this creates a striking backdrop with her all female band dressed in black. It is a well choreographed show with Beyonce's famous booty always in time to the music.

She dances and sings leaving you breathless just watching the performance. Towards the end of 'Run the World (Girls)' the dancing owes a heavy debt to Janet Jackson around her Rhythm Nation period.

Beyonce seems genuinely pleased to be here tonight, "I'm so happy to be here" she gushes "You are incredible, I want to thank you for your loyalty over the years"

The set drops a little midway as the sound is more about the rhythm and the groove as opposed to real songs. On the song 'Party', her dancers surround her with feathers with Beyonce in the middle to create a flower effect. It looks impressive to the uninitiated but it's an old musical trick that still works and has been used by Kylie and Paloma Faith on their last tours.

With more costume changes (12 in all) than a Milan fashion show, you have to hand it to her for the effort that she puts into a show. In-between the wardrobe changes, short 2 minute films are shown - this might sound tedious but the films carry a subtle message.

For the track '1+1' she sings the song on top of a piano wearing a glittering catsuit before being whisked off in a harness to a stage at the back of the arena where she sings a brilliant version of 'Irreplaceable'.

It's not long before Beyonce is back on the main stage to perform 'Crazy in Love' and 'Single Ladies' (complete with that evocative dance from the song's video). Many of the men here tonight look like they made the right decision by accompanying their partners to the show.

After nearly 2 hours on stage she encores with a note perfect version of Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You' which is mixed into Beyonce's own track 'Halo'.

Whatever you might think of Beyonce, even the cynical could not help but be impressed with the effort, enthusiasm, professionalism and talent on display here tonight.

The Yorkshire Times caught Beyonce at Manchester Arena on 8th May 2013.