Me?  Not a big opera fan.  I mean, Porgy and Bess, sure.  But that’s about as far down that path as I’ve ever cared to go.

But Heather and her fiance Jeff were appearing this weekend in the Greensboro Opera Company’s production of Madama Butterfly at the War Memorial Auditorium.  How could I say "no" to that?

It was pretty amazing.  The set and the costumes were simply breathtaking.  Heather and Jeff, for their parts, didn’t have much to do, since all the focus was (naturally) on the guest artists — including Kaori Sato in the title role [Pictured at right: Heather and Ms. Sato].

Once I was able to pick Heather out (and under that make-up, all them geishas look the same), I couldn’t help but smile at the contrast between the last time I saw Heather on stage.  Back then, she was Debbie in her cheerleader costume and getting felt up (by, um, me my character).  Now she was a blushing geisha, hiding behind a fan and decorating the set with flowers.  If that’s not the textbook definition of "range", I don’t know what is.

So did I become an opera fan?  Well, no.  Opera moves at a snail’s pace, something that even opera fans acknowledge (a T-shirt for sale in the lobby bore the words "Life is short; opera is long").  The "dialogue" is repetitive; a two minute aria in which the character literally sings about how many stars are in the sky strikes me as "overkill".  (On the plus side, you don’t have to read the subtitles very much, since you can be reasonably sure they’re not saying anything new half the time).

And the music?  Well, it just doesn’t appeal to me.  Never will.

So, no.  I’m still no opera buff.  But I know I am better for the experience, and it was such a thrill to see Heather and Jeff on that huge stage, playing to a gigantic house, in a truly professional production.  Kudos.