As I mentioned a few posts ago, my wife and I made an excursion to the Twin Cities last weekend to see a matinee performance of Madame Butterfly. Although it was filled with outdated asian stereotypes, it still affected me deeply, thanks to the powerful portrayals of Cio-Cio-San by soprano, Kelly Kaduce, and tenor, Kip Wilborn, who portrayed B.F. Pinkerton. I've seen a lot of operatic deaths, but Butterfly's suicide was heartbreaking and almost unbearable to watch.

Our seats were perfect -- slightly to the left of center stage, and four rows from the front -- which made the performance feel extremely intimate. Ms. Kaduce's powerful voice was so crystal clear and magnetic, I felt like every molecule in my body was aligned to its force, and vibrating on the same wavelength.

I had been vaguely aware that the opera was based on a short story by John Luther Long. Here is the complete online text of the 1903 edition, along with the illustrations.