Madame Butterfly - Opéra de Montréal

Forever an audience junkie, I was lucky enough to see Madame Butterfly at the Place des Arts last night. Despite my runny nose, I was totally enraptured by the magnificent visual display and the evocative voice of soprano Hiromi Omura.

A stage built over a pool of water. Floating candles. Fluttering blossoms. Fire-red kimonos. A trembling Butterfly finally seduced by Pinkerton. The mingling of voices when Butterfly and Suzuki sing the flower duet. The shuffling of the servants' feet. The quick steps of the little boy who played Butterfly's son, and the way Butterfly sometimes covered his ears tenderly with her hands to prevent him from being startled by her enormous voice. And what a tremendous ending...

Povera Butterfly!

Lessons that modern girls can draw from Madame Butterfly.

• Get over him. Seriously. Stop staring into the distance, put on some rouge, and go out.
• If you're a single mother, abandoned by your lover, and a nice, wealthy man wants to marry you, consider it.
• He won't always be calling you "Little flower". Don't be upset by this. You won't always think of yourself as the "happiest girl/woman" either. No need to panic or reach for a dagger.
  
• Don't change your religion for any man unless you really, really want it. When he's gone, you don't want to be stuck with god(s) you don't like.
• Handsome is as handsome does.
• Stick to your girlfriends always.