Bob Draper writes:

>I'll play 'Oberon' often.  'Die Zauberflote' will gather dust on the shelf.
>
>Once again a Mozart work disappoints me.  Still, maybe I'll find salvation
>in the much praised "Marriage Of Figaro", "Cosi Fan Tutti" or "Don
>Giovanni".

I wonder if Bob Draper is having a problem enjoying the new experience of
a new opera because he is hearing it without seeing it.  I suggest that
even if you know the music well, you can't know the full experience of the
opera without seeing it, hopefully in person, at least once.  After you've
seen it, the music makes more sense, and you can enjoy different versions.
But I've had an indifferent reaction to well-loved operas before seeing
them.  Mozart's magic is still more potent when you see it enacted.  When
the Countess forgives the Count at the end of FIgaro, time stands still.
No recording can hint at this.

Michael Stein