Beyoncé dazzles Toronto in the North American debut of her ...

Beyoncé's first solo tour in seven years is a silver-coloured ultramodern spectacle and R&B space opera that takes its name from her latest album, 2022′s Renaissance.Kevin Mazur/Handout

Near the end of a 2½-hour extravaganza at Rogers Centre in Toronto on Friday, a bedazzled superstar sang a question to her audience: “Baby, can I take you all the way?”

The song was Summer Renaissance, the singer was Beyoncé, and the question literally hung in the air. Floating above the crowd atop a flying crystallized horse, the shiny singer trotted the air as a finale to a jaw-dropping show.

All the way – how much further could she go?

The Toronto concert, the first of two here on the weekend, opened the North American leg of a stadium tour that arrives at Vancouver’s BC Place on Sept. 11. Beyoncé's first solo jaunt in seven years is a silver-coloured ultramodern spectacle and R&B space opera that takes its name from her latest (and arguably finest) album, 2022′s Renaissance. The record is a dance-club reaction to societal restrictions, a salute to self-assurance and a funky homage to Black and queer musical pioneers.

“Creating this album allowed me a place to dream and to find escape during a scary time for the world,” Beyoncé had messaged her fans hours before the release of an album created during a pandemic.

So, just as the bubonic plague resulted in the Renaissance, the COVID-19 disease brought us Renaissance and the Renaissance World Tour. History will judge who got the better end of the deal. Right now, though, it does not look good for the 16th-century people.

The entertainment under a closed Rogers Centre’s roof began before the music even started, as costumed fans were a show onto themselves, decked out in Bey-inspired finery. Disco-cowboy was the pervasive look, with elaborate hats, the occasional buttless chaps, and the glitter of a thousand Liberaces. One imagines whole sequin mines were exhausted just for one night out.

The star attraction did not disappoint sartorially, appearing first in a chain-mail mini and glassy high heels for an introductory segment dedicated to older hit ballads presented simply. The nostalgic set began with Dangerously in Love, from the singer’s formative years with the trio Destiny’s Child.

“How y’all doing?” the 41-year-old Houston native then asked. “It’s because of your loyalty and your love that I’m standing here right now.” Love, loyalty and purchased tickets that began at $358 are what brought Beyoncé to stage. The some 40,000 fans got their money’s worth, though – the cost of this eye-popping show must be extraordinary.

The prelim continued with 2007′s Flaws and All, an elegant number seemingly built for a James Bond film. Air fans were situated strategically, breezing hip-length blonde hair at every turn. The late Tina Turner was saluted with a stately, respectful bit of River Deep, Mountain High. For 1+1, Beyoncé sat atop a mirrored grand piano, her legs crossed. The emotive oversinging is to many people’s taste.

The main show that followed was a conceptual, supercharged event of costume changes, joyous boogie, elaborate choreography, more than one horse, robots, chrome-plated eye candy and fantastic video imagery, with emphasis given to Beyoncé's platinum-selling record of a year ago.

“Welcome to the Renaissance,” she purred, outfitted futuristically like a titanium Barbarella in hot pants and thigh-high footwear. The screen behind her was a city block wide. A catwalk from the main stage led to a smaller stage into the crowd. An elite band included a horn section; there were more dancers than a Soul Train reunion; a disco ball was so giant it probably had its own gravitational pull.

“I’m swaggy, effortlessly,” Beyoncé sang on Cozy, showing off an excellent sense of self-awareness.

The maximalist presentation was broken into a series of lyrical and aesthetic themes, such as renaissance, motherboard, opulence and mind control. The “motherboard” segment was preceded with a message flashed on-screen: “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” (Beyoncé's hot-pink dress left little to the imagination.)

The set closed with Break My Soul, a dance floor-filling vamp that hit harder than the $18 price for a big can of beer at the concession stands.

For the “opulence” songs – including Diva, Run the World (Girls) and Black Parade – the singer sat atop a metallic battle-field vehicle and donned a militaristic onesie with jacket and boots to match. Most people wear camouflage to blend in; Beyoncé is not most people.

Elsewhere she reclined luxuriously inside a shell – is glam-clam a thing? – and rocked a nude bodysuit with embroidered, strategically placed hands. The “mind control” songs, including America Has a Problem, were presented in a news-desk setting. Beyoncé's black-and-yellow bee suit had the crowd buzzing.

Overall, her voice was in honeyed and indefatigable mezzo-soprano form. She worked in near constant motion, with the esprit of Josephine Baker, the sparkled fluidity of champagne and the confidence of a superpower. She slipped up just once, dropping her sunglasses (during, of all songs, Diva). Something to work on.