The cutest love duet in all of opera

It's hard not to like the infectiously charming character of Papageno in Mozart's The Magic Flute with his funny wit, wacky bird costume and all-too-human simpleness. He seeks love throughout the opera and he finally receives it in the form of a...an elderly woman. He nonetheless promises to love her faithfully (muttering that he will only do this until something better comes along) and she magically transforms into the young and pretty Papagena, the perfect fit for Papageno. They separate but reunite at the end, breaking into possibly the cutest love duet in all of opera, the 'Pa–, pa–, pa–, Papageno' duet. (Aptly named)
Simple harmonies (most of the piece uses just V-I) and repetitive rhythms evoke the simple and humble nature of Papageno, who is after all the archetype of the Everyman. Nonetheless, the earworm melodies, exciting rhythmic developments and rapid-fire imitative exchanges make for a lovely operatic duet. Mozart took advantage of the explosive consonant "p" in Papageno to articulate his repeated notes, in a way that's comic and references opera buffa. No surprise, considering that this duet was inspired by the “Cucuzze cavatina” from Salieri’s opera, ‘Prima la musica e poi le parole,’ and plays around with humorous bird-like utterances of pseudo-Italian words.

Recording (Roth, Le Roi):    • Roth and Le Roi perform "Papagena / Papage...