Opera fans -- What's your favorite comedic opera? Why?

Question:

Opera fans -- What's your favorite comedic opera? Why?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: It all depends on the performance. Even the most comedic of operas has its slower bits, and the story is never really why you go to a comedic opera because they're even more ridiculous than the serious operas. But here's a general rundown of the best of the best:

The Barber of Seville - Rossini
This one is pretty hard to flub up and has a lot of good laughs and good music. The thing is, though, that it's lost by the third act and doesn't seem so funny any more.

The Italian in Algeria (L'Italiana in Algeri) - Rossini
The plot line isn't as chock-full of laughs (just lots of silly coincidences) and the first act is a bit dull, but! The first act finale is unbelievably fantastic: the action gets so silly that the characters are reduced to singing onomatopoeia and bouncing around the stage. The production that I saw did a really good job with the acting and a lot of gags throughout, which made it real good.

La belle Helene - Offenbach
Offenbach (of can-can fame) is always a hoot, but I'll be honest and say that neither the music nor the plot for this Trojan tale is all that thrilling. Or at least, the production that I saw vastly outdid the music, with dancing sheep and towel-clad Greek gods.

Le nozze di Figaro (Marriage of Figaro) - Mozart
Absolutely beautiful music, definitely in the peppy Mozart vein, though the music itself isn't as brimming with Rossinian jubilance. The plot is ridiculously complicated (it took me about four years, watching four performances and performing in one to actually figure it out) but even if you don't get it, it's quite a laugh. The finale of Act II is probably the highlight, but Act III can drag a bit especially until you know what's going on.

So, when it gets down to it, for recordings I recommend a good Rossini no matter what, and as far as actually attending operas it depends completely on the quality of the opera company. Alas and alack, there are those that can turn Gianni Schicchi (another favorite comedy by Puccini) into a sobstorm and Rigoletto (Verdi) into a laugh-riot. So best of luck.

PS - Of course there's Gilbert & Sullivan, but that's more operetta. G&S can't really play with the big boys. (But still see the Mikado.)