Speaking of Mozart: Complete Operas . . . aka Mozart 22 . . .

In the first opera in this box set, Apollo et Hyacinthus, I couldn't help but notice that the woman who played the part of Melia (1) had a wonderful voice and (2) was very attractive. So I checked her name--Christiane Karg--and then looked at her web page, her Facebook page, and the list of available cds on Amazon. Then I went back and looked at them all again. Yep, QUITE an attractive woman. And then I moved on to the next opera in the set, Die Schuldigkeit des Ersten Gebots, and was delighted to see that Ms. Karg's name appeared in those credits (which preceded the performance) as well. I was more than ready to see her in action again, needless to say.

And she was, again, very impressive, but this was quite a different Christiane Karg, most certainly. The lovely lass from Apollo et Hyacinthus 

had been replaced by a character named Worldliness (in best John Bunyan fashion), and she now looked like this:

Wow. Ms. Karg was great in this role, too--very funny, great faces and gestures, beautiful voice . . . and I thoroughly enjoyed this opera . . . but I also had to go back and watch Apollo et Hyacinthus as soon as it was over just to get the full flavor of her back into my mind.

By the way, whilst fact checking for this bit, I happened to see that Amazon lists a two dvd set of Apollo et Hyacinthus / Die Schuldigkeit des Ersten Gebots for $39.75. And it's probably worth it, as they are both very fine pieces of work. But here's the thing: they are the same performances that are included in Mozart 22, and you can easily find that box set for $80. And then you get 20 more operas for twice the price. I love the Amazons, but you have to keep your eye on 'em.

Just sayin', sir.