So maybe I was wrong...

...and I don't dislike opera after all.

I haven't seen much opera, but what I have seen didn't thrill me.

I'm not sure you can call Baz Luhrmann's staging of "La Boheme" TRULY opera, since there was a bit of Hollywood and Broadway mixed in, but it didn't move me. Some of the performers were really great, and the sets were incredible... but the leads? Blah. They didn't move me. The most interesting thing for me was seeing exactly what inspired Jonathan Larson when he created "Rent."

Then, last fall, there was this. Oy.

So it was with much trepidation that I ventured out last night to take in the first-ever outdoor simulcast of a San Francisco Opera production -- they set up a huge screen in Civic Center plaza, near the Opera House, for the opening night of "Madama Butterfly." And despite the fact that it was freezing cold, I really enjoyed it. As the guy seated next to me said, "Everything sounds better in Italian."

Sure, I was bored in parts...but the second act was particularly riveting and moving. Patricia Racette, who was Butterfly, was astounding. As was Zheng Cao, as Butterfly's maid, Suzuki.

It didn't hurt that I got to sit in the special media area and had a great view of the screen. Not to mention, wine. And the backdrop -- our spectacular City Hall -- wasn't bad either.

After the performance, the leads were all brought over to the park to take a bow and they seemed completely stunned by the size of the crowd, which was easily a few thousand.

Just another reason to love this city.