Six years ago, just before theaters shuttered in response to the pandemic, Pacific Opera Project did a fascinating production of Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly in Los Angeles, with the roles sung in Japanese by singers of Japanese descent. As SF Classical Voice’s reviewer said, “It contrasts the ancient culture and customs of Japan with the puffed-up arrogance (and innate racism) of the new imperial power on the block, America …”
Thanks to Pocket Opera, Bay Area audiences will have the chance to see this remarkable version of the opera in a new staging by director Melody Tachibana-King. As the exciting centerpiece of the company’s just-announced 2026 season, Madama Butterfly will run in Mountain View, San Francisco, and Berkeley from Feb. 20-March 1, 2026.
Madama Butterfly is only the start of this ambitious season. It will be followed by Benjamin Britten’s brilliant setting of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Pocket Artistic Director Nicolas Garcia, from April 17-26. This is a beautiful, melodic work that should be performed more often in major houses. You may miss some of Britten’s sumptuous orchestration in Pocket’s reduced orchestra version, but beggars can’t be choosers. Take the opportunity to see this opera live.
As a one-night-only performance on May 17, fans will be able to see a repertory mainstay — Gaetano Donizetti’s fast, lively comedy Don Pasquale. This opera is already pint-sized, though it is festooned with famous numbers and seductive melodies. It’s perfect for Pocket, almost as if it was written for them.
The season finale is a Puccini item, the slightly less well-traveled comedy La rondine. Directed by Elly Lichtenstein and starring Pocket’s favorite diva, Michelle Drever, it is scheduled to run July 17-26.
For a company that, in terms of budget, represents the Bay Area’s operatic underground, Garcia and his moles have been working miracles. In the wake of their 2025 success with Kirke Mechem’s Tartuffe, they are taking further artistic leaps in the coming year, despite uncertainty in arts funding. It’s a giant trust exercise with their audience, one that we hope will result in greater support for this worthy group.
