That's exactly it, HiLo. My reactions are exactly the same. I've only seen Magic Flute the once (when you live in Cornwall it's hard), and I spent the whole performance with tears of joy running down my ugly bearded mush (the Queen Of The Night could hack it, which was a relief!). It's just perfect. It's stupid, it's trivial, the plot's completely ridiculous, it's entertaining on the basest level, it's so approachable, it's as daft as a brush, but it's the most sublime thing. Mozart was delighted that the Viennese were humming and whistling tunes from it. A few weeks later he was dead, aged 35. And they tell me there's a God!