Our Own Betsy Ann Bobolink writes: Reflecting my new mantra — “and would have gone on longer, had he not died” – here is The Curate’s Egg edition of the Saturday breakdown.

12:00-4:00 ESPACE 2: Montreal Vocal Competition. 3 F.K. These young people would be much better if they were not so young and inexperienced.

1:00-4:30 WFMT Amrican Opera Network: DIE ZAUBERFLOTE 3 F.K. Chicago would have had a much better production had they not coerced a young soprano into a role for which she was not ready (Queen.)

1:00-4:30 BBC 3: RUSALKA. 2 F.K. Not feeling snarky about this, because it has a lot of promise — Nylund, Held, Hymel (meh!), Nezet-Sequins. But why does the BBC blurb go on and on about the production, which is essentially INVISIBLE on radio?

1:00-5:00 HR2 KULTUR: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT”S DREAM from Kassel. No data to rate. The nicest thing I can say about this is that no children will be visibly molested during the broadcast.

1:00-6:00 LATVIA RADIO KLASIKA: GOTTERDAMMERUNG from Paris. 3 F.K. With Kerl, Dalayman, Peterson, and Konig in the cast, how could this be anything other than spotty?

1:00-5:00 CBC TWO: TOSCA from Canadian Opera. 3 F.K. Adrienne Pieczonka would be a star at The Met, were she not singing in Canada instead.

1:00-4:30 DEUTSCHLANDRADIO KULTUR: ALCINA from Halle. 3 F.K. This cast would be on an international level, were they not all totally unknown.

1:00-5:00 DWOJKA POLSKIE: Anton Schweitzer’s ROSAMUNDE. Anton Schweitzer is a household name, in the Schweitzer household. 1 F.K. Expect a mix of Pergolesi and Telemann — like saurbraten with marinara.

1:00-5:00 FRANCE MUSIQUE: TRISTAN UND ISOLDE from Paris. 3 F.K. A lovely performance, were it not for the singers.

1:00-5:00 KBYU: LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR from Chicago. 3 F.K. This is the best performance of LUCIA I have ever heard, were it not for about 73 others.

1:00-4:30 NPR World of Opera: L’ORACOLO IN MESSENIA. 1 F.K. On the other hand, this IS the best L’ORACOLO IN MESSENIA I have ever heard.

1:00-4:00 NRK KLASSISK, also LYRIC FM at 2:00: LA CLEMENZA DI TITO. 3 F.K. if you feel like picking a fight with Elina Garanca. Nobody commented on my “titos in a wringer” last week, so I would repeat it here, were it not that I have forgotten it.

1:00-4:00 RADIO 4 NETHERLANDS: LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR. No data to rate, but this performance just might make my estimation of the Chicago version go up. Or down.

1:00-5:00 RTP ANTENA 2: LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR. 2 F.K. Not bad enough to pick apart, not good enough to bother with.

1:00-5:00 RADIO CLASICA DE ESPANA: ROBERTO DEVEREUX. 4 F.K. I think this is the Gruberova performance from 2008, 0r maybe 2002. Or maybe 1981. Or is it the 1956 one?

1:00-4:00 WQXR, WCNY, WQED: BORIS GODUNOV from Chicago. 2 F.K. Furlanetto and Margarita make one sorry they omitted the Polish Act, in which neither of them sing.

1:00-5:00 WRR: DER ROSENKAVALIER. 1 F.K. Okay, so it’s a classic. So it’s damn near perfect. Why do I feel like I should goose-step through most of it?

1:20-5:00 RTP ANTENA 2: RIENZI from Madrid. 2 F.K. This would be a splendid opera, were it not that it needs to be completely re-written.

1:30-4:00 RADIO OESTERREICH: ROBERTO DEVEREUX from Vienna. The blurb says this was recorded last week. If so, I have no data to rate it, but I’m pretty sure it has a “preserved in amber” quality. Do you think anthropologists years from now will be able to extract DNA and create a sort of Jurassic Park for coloratura sopranos. “Help! Help! The Galli-Curcis are stampeding!”

1:30-5:00 CESKY ROZHLAS VLTAVA: FAUST from Covent Garden. 4 F.K. Vittorio Grigolo is a truly excellent Faust, if you can overlook his timbre, his technique, and his intellectual grasp.

2:00-6:00 KLARA: LE DUC D’ALBE. This is billed as the world premiere of the reconstructed French version. If so, I have no data to rate, but I’m sure George Thill and Janine Micheau were far superior.

2:00-6:00 ESPACE 2: SCHWANDA DER DUDELSACKPFEIFFER. 1 F.K. Operas with bagpipers don’t come down the pike every day. Unless you count DER FLIEGENDE HAGGIS or any number of Italian operas where sopranos get kilt.

Discussion of these (and other) performances will be freewheeling as usual at La Casa della Cieca.