Dave Lampson wrote: >[Wouldn't it be far easier and more expedient (not that we all aren't >fascinated with the "is too" "is not" nature of the discussion so far) >to simply list any librettos that aren't crazy? Should be an awfully >short list. -Dave] By "crazy" libretto, I really meant crazy excuse for a plot, which wasn't helped any by the opera's text. Examples of operas with librettos that most would agree have literary merit are, IMO: DaPonte's (see supra) Otello Rosenkavalier Falstaff Most other operas that I know have librettos which while possibly lacking in great literary merit at least advance a plot for which a suspension of disbelief is not totally unreasonable. Examples are Carmen, Meistersinger, Flying Dutchman, Puccini's operas, and all of the other Verdi operas whose plots I know. *Magic Flute*, while its libretto may have some coded messages for Freemasons, has no plot. The Queen of the Night's ladies in waiting send Tamino (a prince so brave that he faints at the sight of a dragon the ladies themselves have no problem dispatching) to rescue the kidnapped Pamina, who, it turns out was kidnapped for her own good. Curiously enough, her kidnapper, Sarastro, like Pamina's mom, seems to find Tamino an ideal husband for the lass, except that he and she must pass some tests of worthiness before they can be united. Never is there the slightest doubt that they will pass those tests; all they have to do is walk confidently through the darkness and the fire and water will part for them. It's like a college fraternity initiation. The only interesting part of the tale is that of Papageno and his search for a mate. His are the only sensible lines. Everybody else speaks only in painfully obvious platitudes. wm