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 Rimes' time on stage was preceded by 30 minutes of Christmas standards performed by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra under the baton of guest conductor Frank McNamara. Most surprising and among the most graceful of the lot was a rendition of the calypso-associated "Mary's Boychild." In a live setting, being reminded of rhw MSO's  finesse was a treat in and of itself.

The evening's vocalist entered with possibly her biggest international pop hit, "Can't Fight The Monlight." The song's introductory orchestral flourish bore no small resemblance to the opening synth motif of Europe's "The Final Countdown." Horrid as that Scandanavian hair spray metal artifact remains, the arrangement of la LeAnn's smash worked.

Before a 20-minute intermission, Rimes didn't do much more, but her treatment of "O Holy Night" was bravura as anything she's ever done. It was also the only overtly Christocentric Yuletide tune she performed.

The majority of the rest evening was comprised of seasonal tunes. Maybe it was the massive expanse of instrumentation behind her, but things didn't always play to her favor. A swinging cover of Eartha Kitt's "Santa Baby" lacked the original's saucy subtext since Rimes' image as a happily-married woman that wouldn't break up the Claus household over the pricey goodies Kitt enumerated in such come-hither tone. Rimes has as much right as anyone to prance around a pine, but Brenda Lee's perennial "Rockin' Around The Chrstmas Tree" just wasn't meant for symphonic accompaniment.

In her hands the classics "White Chrstmas" and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" seemed a bit more about technique than anything else. She sold me, however, on "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)" and her originals, one that sounded like an answer to Charles Brown's simmeringly horny "Merry Christmas Baby," the other her reflection on Christmas after the East Coast terror attacks of 9/11.

She touched upon her hits of the past and possibly future as well. She carried off her biggest U.S. pop entry, "How Do I Live," with just enough bombast to keep her from Celine Dion-esque overkill. "Some People," a tender love song from her upcoming non-holiday album, sounded like she's been listening to the happier moods of Bonnie Raitt, and that's no bad thing.

Rimes' technical prowess and glamorous rural soulfulness came to a feverish head on the second of her two encores where she assayed "Amazing Grace" a capella with stunning melissma. If Rimes has learned anything over the course of her decade-plus music career, it's how to leave an audience wanting more.