SLO Opera’s ‘Madama Butterfly’ was wonderful

My wife and I also attended the wonderful SLO Opera performance of “Madama Butterfly.” Unlike the couple that was shocked at the disrespect to the flag, we understood the context of a young Japanese woman betrayed by the American Naval officer who left her pregnant, only to return three years later with an American wife wanting to take her young child.

What young woman wouldn’t feel outrage at that point and lash out at the symbol of that officer? And gasps from the audience at the incident are a sign that the emotion of the moment reached them, not necessarily the idea of disrespect. Who didn’t gasp at the first knife strike during the shower scene in Psycho?

This story was originally published October 30, 2017 at 8:02 AM with the headline "SLO Opera’s ‘Madama Butterfly’ was wonderful."