Questo è luogo di lagrime! Badate! …translated..  “Beware: this is a place of tears.
Giacomo Puccini said this about his opera Tosca, but it is also fitting for his musical masterpiece, Madame Butterfly. A night at the opera at the Music Center in LA was the Pink Bragade Culture Club’s latest venture into a new genre of enjoyment. Pink Bragade members and their guests filled 22 center seats in the upper loge of the Dorothy Chandlier Pavilion for opening night of Madame Butterfly. Most of the group had never been to an opera before and of those who had, only a few had seen Madame Butterfly, so this was unexplored territory.

The evening began for the majority of the group at the wonderful Cafe Pinot (arranged by Paula – thanks!). Due to a clever reservation strategy, we had our entire party seated simultaneously. The setting, just outside the doors of the historic Los Angeles County Library building, was perfect on a warm winter evening..the twinkle lights in the trees and white cloths on the tables in the outdoor patio added to the atmosphere.

Once at the Music Center, the excitement set in. Of course, we couldn’t resist a picture in front of the LA Opera Step and Repeat — we had all dressed for the occasion after all. Here we met up with the other part of our group from the Valley and found our seats to be lost in the music of the first half. At intermission, Lisa found a woman in a beautiful vintage Japanese housedress of teal silk which was a family heirloom brought from Japan just after the war. Turns out, the wearer of this beautiful gown was Laurie’s friend Nadine. She and Johnny had two of our 22 tickets.

Seated back for the finale when that devil Pinkerton’s treachery to Butterfly was to be revealed, there were a few tears shed. Butterfly, sung by Ana Maria Martinez, was spectacular, as were all the performances. Pinkerton, although his stature was not as expected, evidently conveyed the heartlessness of his character as he (as Pinkerton) was booed at the close of the show.

Despite a bit of a wait for the shuttle back to our cars and the fact that the originator of the idea, Laurie Allyn, could not join us for the evening and was certainly missed…it can be said that the night was nearly perfect. That being said….another Culture Club expedition is surely in the Pink Bragade’s future.