Madama Butterfly

As I’ve shared previously on numerous occasions, thanks to my parents, I grow up listening to and performing music of all kinds.  While I tend to gravitate to folks, rock, Broadway show tunes and church hymns, I was also exposed to opera.

Therefore, when I saw that Madama Butterly was going to be performed in Pittsburgh last month, I secured two tickets and persuaded my wife, who had never attended an opera, to take in the performance with me.  The result was an entertaining, unforgettable evening as we enjoyed a new experience together.

The opera by Giacomo Puccini is based on the 1898 short story Madame Butterfly written by John Luther Long.  Puccini’s original version premiered in 1904 at La Scala in Milan, Italy.  While composed over 100 years ago, the story is timeless.  Boy meets girl…they fall in love…a child is born…they endure separation…etc.  

Spoiler Alert - I’m not going to share here how the story ends.  

However, if you’d like to find out, I encourage you to either read the book, attend the opera, or watch the movie, Miss Saigon which is one of the many contemporized versions of the story that has been adapted for modern day audiences.

In any case, consider exposing yourself to a new experience, which for me was attending an opera performance.  It broadened my horizons and gave me an appreciation for a part of our culture which I had heretofore not thought much about.