Dear Mr. Puppy,
What was the worst opera that you ever conducted?
Much time has passed since those days of 1790. When I recall it to memory, I remember during that time before the revolution all those absurdities of language and the quaint expressions that went together with the Old Regime; it seems that I was audience to much more of a comedy than a tragedy. Now everyone wants to look back to those times and the theatrical shows feed this “remembrance of things past”. The two-act opera at the Feydeau “Les qui pro quo espagnols”, was amusing in this regard, but it created a kind of torpor in the audience. The dialog was far from significant. It lacked spirit and had an unpardonable platitude of style that lacked the potential to do any more than raise its weary head from off the pillow. The music though and the way that the musicians played, merited a whole different kind of appreciation. This perhaps carried the day, despite the lack-luster libretto that might just as well have concerned itself with a marmot and its wooden leg.
-Mr. Puppy
*Ask Mr. Puppy aka Giuseppe Puppo, an 18th-century concert violinist, answers our questions about his career and times.*
