Photos provided by Kyle Dunleavy/ Ravinia

Throughout the mid-1980s and front half of the 1990s, Anita Baker was unquestionably the leading lady of R&B whose typhoon of singles and multi-platinum albums allowed her to coast from one sell out to the next. Despite keeping an extremely low profile for much of the last decade (except for 2012’s comeback track “Lately”), the announcement of the 60-year-old singer’s extremely limited “Farewell Concert Series” added fuel to the fire of demand when she returned to a maximum capacity Ravinia with an elegant production and synchronized visuals (plus pianist/producer Robert Glasper in the house).

If this season really winds up being the period on Anita Baker’s career, fans couldn’t have asked for a better swansong, though anyone who was so moved (or missed it entirely) will surely be begging for an encore.

For those who packed the pavilion and every speck of grass or standing spots behind it, that meant nothing but “old love songs,” and considering her voice sounded exactly like the original records (with the addition of some scatting since “live music has to live”), they may as well have taken a time machine back to the “Rapture” Tour all over again. In fact, the black dress-wearing Baker, her tuxedo-clad six-piece band and three superb background singers (previously heard alongside Chaka Khan, Usher, “American Idol” and “Dancing With The Stars”) performed the bulk of that certified classic (“Mystery,” “Sweet Love,” “Caught Up In The Rapture,” “No One In The World”) with faithful frequently joining in, if not all together taking over.

Although the Grammy Award-winner didn’t need any help (outside of asking for several technically specific sound adjustments), she basked in the applause and kept stepping up her already polished game come the glowing “Just Because” (in memory of so many newly departed musical greats), the quiet storm of “Angel” and the jazzy wildcard “Love You To The Letter” (plucked out of obscurity from the “Compositions” collection). At one point, Baker asked who was from Chicagoland compared to elsewhere and the response was almost equal, including folks who flew in from both coasts and nearly everywhere in between.

And for two solid hours, the soon-to-be-retired star made it worth everyone’s effort, more than living up to the title of the glorious piano ballad “Giving You The Best That I Got” before making the most of every soulful page from “Fairy Tales.” If this season really winds up being the period on Anita Baker’s career, fans couldn’t have asked for a better swansong, though anyone who was so moved (or missed it entirely) will surely be begging for an encore.

For additional information on Anita Baker, visit Twitter.com/IAmAnitaBaker.

Upcoming concert highlights at Ravinia include John Fogerty and ZZ Top (Jun. 12); Jackson Browne (Jun. 15); Alison Krauss (Jun. 16); Seal (Jun. 19); Jill Scott and The Roots (Jun. 22); Roger Daltrey performs The Who’s “Tommy” (Jun. 23 and 25); Bryan Adams (Jun. 29); Snarky Puppy (Jul. 2); Classic Albums Live Presents: “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (Jul. 7); Buddy Guy and Jonny Lang (Jul. 8); Evanescence and Lindsey Stirling (Jul. 10); Mary J. Blige (Jul. 20) and “Lost 80’s Live” (Jul. 29). For additional details, visit Ravinia.org.

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