"The Opera" is the 49th episode of the sitcom ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

''. It is the ninth episode of the fourth season. It aired on November 4, 1992. This episode deals with the characters attending a production of ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who m ...

''. The characters' lives begin to imitate the opera when Elaine's increasingly unstable boyfriend

"Crazy" Joe Davola This is a list of characters who appeared on ''Seinfeld''. This list features only characters who appeared in multiple episodes; those that appeared in only one are not included here. Primary characters Jerry Seinfeld George Costanza Elaine ...

thinks she is cheating on him and stalks her and

Jerry Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...

while dressed in a clown costume.

Plot

Elaine's boyfriend,

, leaves

a threatening phone message. Kramer has tickets for the opera ''

'', and everyone is going, including Elaine and Joe. Elaine drops in on Joe's apartment where she discovers that he has a wall of pictures of her that he secretly took with his telephoto lens. Terrified, she attempts to leave the apartment. When Joe tries to stop her, insinuating that she is cheating on him, she maces him with cherry Binaca and flees. Jerry, Kramer, Elaine, and

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

go to the opera, where Elaine tells the others that Joe is not coming, and

Susan Susan is a feminine given name, from Persian "Susan" (lily flower), from Egyptian '' sšn'' and Coptic ''shoshen'' meaning "lotus flower", from Hebrew ''Shoshana'' meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose" and a flower in general), ...

has to pick up a friend at the airport and cannot come either, so they have two extra tickets. George and Kramer attempt to

scalp The scalp is the anatomical area bordered by the human face at the front, and by the neck at the sides and back. Structure The scalp is usually described as having five layers, which can conveniently be remembered as a mnemonic: * S: The ski ...

the tickets, working separately after Kramer refuses to sell for anything less than an absurdly high price. As Jerry and Elaine wait for them to return, they are asked by a street performer impersonating

Canio Canio is a name. Notable people with this name include: * Canio of Atella, also known as San Canio and Saint Canius * Cristián Canío (born 1981), Chilean football player * Luigi De Canio (born 1957), Italian football player * Paolo Di Canio (bor ...

for tips. Jerry had flipped a coin earlier, and it was taken by another spectator, so he does not have any money for the

clown A clown is a person who performs comedy and arts in a state of open-mindedness using physical comedy, typically while wearing distinct makeup or costuming and reversing folkway-norms. History The most ancient clowns have been found in ...

, which annoys him. Joe, in full Pagliaccio costume, walks through a park on his way to the opera house. He is antagonized by a group of hoodlums, but uses martial arts to knock them all out. He approaches Kramer and intimidates him with his manner, particularly as Kramer is scared of clowns. Jerry and Elaine get to talking about "their nutjob" friends, and discover that each of their Joes is the same person. Joe accosts them in clown costume, and they run away. George finally agrees to sell the ticket to someone. Susan runs up and says she can join him because her friend's plane was diverted to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. George gives her ticket to her, and gives the buyer his own. Kramer shows up with the tickets, and he, Elaine and Jerry take their seats. They are joined by Susan and Harry Fong, the man to whom George sold his ticket. They ask where George is; Susan tells them that he was "uncomfortable." Jerry and Elaine ask Kramer to whom he gave the last ticket. As the curtain comes up, Kramer answers, "Some nut in a clown suit." Jerry and Elaine look horrified as the audience applauds.

Production

The scene when Jerry and another audience member start arguing and tearing dollar bills is a reference to a similar scene in the film ''

Broadway Danny Rose ''Broadway Danny Rose'' is a 1984 American black-and-white comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. It follows a hapless theatrical agent who, by helping a client, gets dragged into a love triangle involving the mob. The film stars Allen a ...

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Opera Seinfeld (season 4) episodes 1992 American television episodes