I did manage to stop whining and sing it the way Mozart wrote it on Saturday evening.

The concert of highlights from Don Giovanni was an amazing value. The room was intimate and paneled with wood. The voices were big and exciting. The accompanist was from the Manhattan School of Music and played the score with authority. The evening lasted about 80 minutes. Suggested donation, $10.

After the concert was over, one of the approximately 40 patrons said, "I've never been this close to voices like this. It was amazing and I didn't have to pay $200."

The concert was put together by local baritone Michael Blinco. The singers were all from San Diego Opera, save one. Blinco and local mezzo-soprano Alexandra Rodrick were the stars of the evening.

Rodrick is one of those voices that in the future people will pay $200 to hear up close. At 22 years old, she was the best singer of the group, that featured solid veterans and seasoned performers.

I, with all my resistance to singing Mozart, was okay.

I was dismayed to see one Brad Fox arrive. I told him afterward, "You know too much." There's no faking it with a discerning ear in the audience.

Come this fall, some of this same group might be doing a concert of Puccini's Gianni Schicchi or Tosca. I have no resistance to these.

Pictured: Alexandra Rodrick Photo by Pridmoria Photography