Derek Lim wrote:

>Eric Kisch wrote:
>
>>Of course, opera composers have only themselves to blame for some
>>ludicrous lines.  Even without Anna Russell to point it out, Siegfried's
>>"Das ist kein Mann" (that is no man) upon beholding the sleeping
>>Brunnhilde, is enough to cause the sides of one's mouth to twitch.
>
>Are you so sure that Wagner didn't mean people to smile just a bit here?  =)

Wagner? Smile? You've got to be kidding!  I don't think the guy had a
humorous molecule in his body.  O.K.  ...Meistersinger.  But honestly,
that is the one exception.  It's a wonderful human comedy, but with more
heartaches than guffaws.

Eric Kisch