Ah, opera: a wonderful cultural event to savor and treasure as one of the most meaningful experiences of your life... if this were an episode of Frasier, that is. But since this is Seinfeld, it means the opera is used in a rather different way to serve the crazy plot machinations of writer Larry Charles.
In fact, the opera is more of a punishment for Jerry, George, Kramer and Elaine who, due to a series of customarily preposterous circumstances, have to endure a night of music and clowns. However, Jerry has an even bigger problem: his nemesis "Crazy" Joe Davola (Peter Crombie) has left a threatening message on his answering machine, and Elaine is dating a guy named Joey, who just happens to be the same Crazy Davola...
Opera and stalking: two completely unrelated topics that come together to great effect on television, all for the sake of good, clever laughs. The way Charles and director Tom Cherones depict one of the highest art forms would normally be enough to grant the episode a classic status (and watching the gang's behavior in that context is always a joy), but the real kicker is the payoff to the Davola subplot, with Crombie giving a truly manic and hilarious performance. Funny detail: the character's name comes from one of Larry David's friends...
