It was the last night of a six-evening run of the opera Madame Butterfly in Giovanni Caboto Park on August 27. The evening was perfect and warm as people gathered for an intimate version of Puccini’s famous Italian opera in three acts.

I had been to only one other opera, several years ago at the Jubilee. This one was much more engaging and much louder due to the small space. The singing was beautiful. Did I mention how loud opera singing is? These people were professionals (I’m sure they could have shattered glass).

The costumes were very good. The set was simple, but very elegant. Flowers abounded. There was a lot of sniffling in the audience by the time the tragic ending came. I was teary myself.

I will definitely go next year, bringing the whole family to the pay-what-you-can dress rehearsal, and I would recommend that you go too. To top it all off, there were fireworks during the intermission, to the delight of opera goers and kids in the park. Mercury Opera’s summer park productions are one kind of the events that make McCauley such an interesting place to live.