Venus Butterfly
Fans of the old TV series LA Law will recognize the subject line as that of an amusing subplot that spanned several episodes … but that’s not what this is about. I just couldn’t resist using it here.
I sing in the chorus of a regional opera company, The Festival Opera in Walnut Creek CA. The first opera of our season was that old warhorse Madame Butterfly. The US synchronized swimming team trains in Santa Clara, about 30 minutes south of Walnut Creek (in light traffic). Their manager contacted ours saying that the team is working on a routine using music from Madame Butterfly and expressed an interest in bringing the team to see a performance. Our manager responded with an offer to comp them tickets if they’d participate in a publicity photo shoot prior to the performance.
Members of the cast were invited to come up on stage and take part. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to have my picture taken with people who might actually pariticapte in the Olympics, so naturally I showed up. I was expecting to see a group of young, very buff women. What I wasn’t prepared for was the fact that half of them were eye-popping, jaw-dropping gorgeous … and they were dressed to the nines to boot.
In the picture below, there’re just a couple of lowly 2nd tenors from the chorus and the team, plus the Suzuki character (Butterfly’s maid and BFF). That’s me with the yellow headband.
In this one, most of the principals are included. Standing on the floor (left to right) are Sharpless (bass extraordinaire Phillip Skinner) , the two coaches, Cio Cio San (Butterfly, sung by a wonderful soprano named Teresa Eickel), the team manager, Suzuki, a lady from the chorus and the despicable Pinkerton (tenor Christopher Bengochea, not yet in costume).
The women were all very polite and enthusiastic about seeing the performance, although it was clear none of them new anything about opera. After the show, I was standing near the stage door with some friends from the audience. Several of the team members walked by and one of our group asked them which music they’d be using. The response: "the aria". Hmmm … that really narrows it down.
In an online review of the production (the website Opera Tattler), the reviewer observed:
"The person behind me in Row J Seat 112 of the orchestra snapped her gum during much of Acts II and III, but was mercifully quiet during the big numbers, including the Humming Chorus."
I’m pretty sure the guilty party would be the tall blond near the center of the ladies on the bridge.