I’ve tried a few times and absolutely fail to get uplift or spiritual insight from it. And partway through I find I’m dying for a syncopation, a snappy downbeat or an oompah or two. My friends and colleagues look at me in condescending pity, as if I’ve failed to see some kind of profound light. That’s fine with me. Most of Wagner I regard with an intensely suspicious air – with the odd soft spot for Wälkure perhaps. Back to Offenbach for me!