Listened to the Met's Magic Flute today. Shikaneder is no Da Ponte, that's for sure. The libretto is a hot mess and nobody seems to agree on its order. Commentators saying 'doesn't matter, it's Mozart at his peak' are also off-base by me. Mozart does much better in Figaro AFAIC. So many highlights in that one compared to the, what? one, maybe two? show stoppers in Flute. I like the three boys but those are brief interludes. And the misogyny and racism gets worse with every performance. There was a kerfuffle some years ago when the Canadian Uproar altered a single word in Monostato's aria to be less offensive. Oh no! Disrespect for the immortal libretto of Emmanuel Shikaneder!! while we happily cut the immortal music of Mozart when it makes the opera too long. People, people.

Then went out to dinner, which one should not do at 5 on a Saturday. Wound up at Pauper's and did get a seat: at the back where several families were doing I know not what: birthday party maybe.  But lots of ataguess six to eight year olds running about, crawling on the floor, climbing over the banquettes, and so on. Didn't actually bother me-- the adults were being quite as loud-- but yeah: do not go out to dinner at 5 on a Saturday.

This bought a small bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream on the way home and drank it all. Helps the owies at least.