Clipped wings Clipped wings

Madama Butterfly at Opera Colorado plays it safe — and never fully takes flight.

Soar, losers Soar, losers

Chopping up the action and dutifully showing each plot point may work in a film but in an opera, where every piece of marginal dialogue must be set to music, it feels like a chore.

To the vixen belongs the spa To the vixen belongs the spa

A production as delectable as the current one (through Sunday) at the Juilliard Opera will make you wonder why Il Turco is not as well known as L’Italiana, Il Barbiere, La Cenerentola, even the odd and occasional Il Viaggio a Rheims.