Lifestyles of the wannabe rich and famous

I took a little trip to Tokyo yesterday to see an opera.

Doesn't that sound rich and sophisticated? I thought it just sounded crazy, but a few of my Japanese friends said it had a very oshare (oh shah ray: similar to bling-bling, or fancy) ring to it.

Thanks to connections from Boston, I was invited to watch the New York City Opera Company's production of Madama Butterfly as a guest of the company. They are on a mini tour in Japan for the Aichi Exhibition, peforming Madama Butterfly and Little Women in Tokyo and Nagoya. My friend's father is an employee (the man in charge of all the people who don't sing) and he graciously allowed me and my friend to come see the Dress Rehearsal, and afterwards, to meander back stage. We got to meet the adorable little boy who played Sorrow, Butterfly's son, and we snuck a look at the makeup-coated tenor who, like most tenors, was finicky and didn't sing full voice.

The production was great. The set was very modern; there was nothing more than huge Japanese style doors, some stairs, and a kimono rack. The music was great. However, thanks to a friend who is studying the use of Eastern music influence on Western music and my own experience in Japan, I was looking out for "mistakes." Here's my list:
-The monk was dressed as an oni (demon), complete with the crown and long hair. He was accompanied by cymbals with a Chinese flair.
-The obis on the kimonos all matched. This is not how it is done.
-There were several times when the servant was praying to the ancestors, but "the ancestors" were little red Chinese warrior statues. What?! And she would call out "Izanami, Izanagi!" which are the names of the two mythological figures who created the Japanese islands, but are never invoked in personal worship.
-The suitor was wearing a Chinese wrobe, complete with Chinese style mustache and beard. He was also accompanied by obviously Chinese sounding music.

Really, Puccini probably didn't know any better, and you can't blame the Americans too much for having no idea about Japanese customs. Other than these little points, the music was great and it was wonderful to be able to learn about the behind the scenes stuff of an opera. Like, did you know that most of the actors don't set foot on the set until a few days before the show?

So, thank you to Mr. my friend's dad for the opportunity to see this production, and for paying for dinner afterwards. We really appreciated it.