In questa regia

Catherine Malfitano just doesn't slow down. In recent seasons she's expanded her repertoire to include a bewildering variety of roles: Kundry, Minnie, Carmen, Blitzstein's Regina, Herodias, the Kostelnicka, Elle in La Voix Humaine (that's her in the picture). She's taught master classes. She's performed a cabaret at Joe's Pub here in New York. And now she's directing her first opera, Madama Butterfly at the Central City Opera House -- incidentally the site of her professional debut as an opera singer back in 1972 (Nannetta in Falstaff). The Butterfly production, featuring Maria Kanyova in the title role, opens tomorrow night. Cathy, as usual not at a loss for words, talks about her new role as regisseuse in The Rocky Mountain News. The season at Central City also includes Emily Pulley's first Vanessa, starting July 2.