I concur that Elena Razgylyaeva was a fine - if not stellar - Cio-Cio San and that it was a viable introduction to Madame Butterfly - That is apart from the amplification which in my opinion - and assuming performers who can carry the notes - was absolutely unnecessary for such a small venue; the disjointed orchestra; the baritone Yamadori and his evidently less than enthusiastic performance; and the fact that Trouble/Joy was neither blond nor curly haired. (Seriously! Where was Yamadori at curtain call and how difficult was it to find a blond kid for the less than the half an hour that one was required?)

While I may consider other types of performances at Baltimore's Hippodrome, my Victorian view of opera etiquette prohibits another attempt at an opera at that venue. Equally disconcerting were the facts that the audience was permitted to take candy and drinks inside and that ushers disrupted the effect for those aficionados who enjoy immersion in the proceedings by letting people in and allowing them to block views for extended periods as late as half an hour into the performance.

Finally, I am disappointed at those fellow Baltimoreans who figured an evening at the opera deserves the same reverence as what is typically afforded the Rocky Horror Picture Show - For the record, it's not okay to express dismay, gasp aloud, or sing along at the opera! I also strongly recommend ensuring that your hearing aid is working so as to avoid having to ask your companion to narrate things. In addition, I suggest that you stay away from operas if you are not keen on being subjected to two and a half hours of a foreign language - Specifically in the case of Madama Butterfly, as the gentleman behind us called it, "Eye-ta lee-ann!"

"And I'm not sure what a baritone was doing singing the tenor role of Yamadori ... "

Obeying the composer's final instructions, actually. Although the 1904 premiere of Butterfly featured a tenor as Yamadori, the cast list of the final version of 1907 clearly lists Prince Yamadori as a baritone. A scan of the 1907 American edition of the Ricordi Score can be viewed at: http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/variations/scores/bhr3491/large/index.html

Because the original was written for a tenor, the part is notated in the G clef rather than the bass cleff. I suspect this is simply a case where Ricordi didn't want to go to the expense of re-engraving the part. The music lies easily within the compass of any competent baritone and has, in fact, even been sung at the Met (under the baton of Toscanini, no less) by artists listed as basses. The current Met production of Butterfly has featured baritone David Won in every performance I have checked.
Of course it is vital to the story that he be, as Goro puts it, "Il ricco Yamadori" (the rich Yamadori).

My experience with the opera is in buying the tickets through the internet. I ended up paying $457 for two tickets to the orchestra which originally cost only $48 each. When ordering the tickets, a pop-up screen from this broker came up and I was not aware of this. I am not that familiar with ordering and very trusting. When I tried cancelling, I wasn't allowed to do this. I wrote to Hippodrom and didn't get a response from them. I sometimes think that they might be getting a cut from this. I don't think that opera was worth $457. Please tell your readers to be careful with this scam. I don't want this to happen to anybody else and decide not to go to any other shows and support the arts. Very bad experience for somebody who just moved here in Baltimore.

It should be noted that all but a handful of the horrible orchestra are Bulgarian and are used in order to save money!