Further to the obituary of Malcolm Smith (11 March), during the interval of Barry Douglas and Camerata Ireland's 2006 performance in Cadogan Hall, I found a morose, pessimistic Malcolm reflecting blackly on the decayed state of the London musical world as he knew it, writes Robert Maycock. Not a hint of optimism from anybody listening went unchallenged.

The connection between Verdi’s Overture to Luisa Miller and Mozart’s G major Piano Concerto No.17 may not immediately have been apparent but a few pages of both quickly pointed up operatic common ground. The curtain was duly raised on two very distinct and vivid dramas.

The Welsh soprano Margaret Price had one of the most beautiful voices of thesecond half of the 20th century. Lustrous in tone and smooth-textured, it was also extremely flexible – her trill was quite amazing – and perfectly graduated from a thread of sound to a full-blooded forte. In the earlier part of her career she wasfamous for her singing of Mozart, but as her voice grew in power, without losing its beauty, she widened her repertory to take on certain roles by Verdi and Richard Strauss. Always conscious of the dramatic importof whatever she was singing, whether German Lieder or Italian opera,Price never sacrificed words to sheer tonal splendour.

Having just praised the Wigmore Hall for bravely flying the flag during most schedulers’ dead-time at Christmas, I must now give a similar accolade to London’s new chamber venue in the wilds of Kings Cross – Kings Place.

BBC Radio 3 is to dedicate its entire schedule to the works of Mozart for almost two weeks.

It is the story of an immoral Lothario, a tale which begins with sexual violence and ends with divine justice. You'd have thought seasoned opera-goers would be well prepared for the exploits of Don Giovanni. But that hasn't stopped a new production from being accused of "shock tactics" by suggesting scenes involving gang rape.

Prepare to be shocked if you go to the English National Opera at the moment. In Don Giovanni there is a gang rape by a group of masked men wearing Jesus Christ T-shirts. In a new opera, A Dog's Heart, there are four-letter words. Down the road at the Royal Opera House the recent production of Rigoletto included rape, oral and anal sex and much else that Verdi never envisaged.

In one respect at least Rufus Norris' new ENO production of Don Giovanni might truthfully be described as electrifying.