The notion that his recitatives were flawed or lacking in substance haunted his reputation even in death.
Now he appears alone, coming to grips, probably in an obbligato recitative, with his internal struggle.
Of course this kind of comedy was possible in recitative, but spoken dialogue was far better suited to improvisation and interaction with the audience.
The lack of a decisive cadence at the end of the accompagnato eases the way for the duet to slide back into accompanied recitative.
When operatic characters converse, they often do so in recitative, with speech-like freedom, with or without orchestral accompaniment.
The note on the third eighth of measure 14 of the accompanied recitative is changed from c2 to a1.
Once again, the air's stability magnifies the impact of the preceding uncertainties of the recitative.
Some of his recitative scenes have no airs whatsoever.
