And dying, as we know, is easy. Comedy is hard.

It helped that the staging at the end portrayed a loving reconciliation and repose that the words did not. That artistic decision was very Christian in the best sense. Whether that brief moment was enough to balance the clouded darkness of the previous hour, I’m not sure, but it was powerful.

For instance, one way of thinking of an answer to “Who’s in Charge?” is imagining how to conduct an orchestra piece that begins with a single solo. Do you conduct, sort of conduct, or let the soloist lead it in? Who’s in charge? (Oh, and if you say “Mahler!”, congratulations, you win the passive aggressive conductor award.)

Just as one can talk about the humanitarian nature of Mozart’s Figaro, and talk about it in actual musical detail, so I believe you can talk about the actual musical detail of Harrison’s breathtaking portrayal of human love.