FUN WITH MAPS – ISSUE 2022-033 DAILY FEATURE:

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (February 17, 2022) – In Issue 2022-033 of Steve Kovacs Fun with Maps, we celebrate the premiere of an iconic opera!

Tragic Butterfly

Puccini’s opera, Madame Butterfly, premiered on February 17, 1904 in Milan, Italy.

The tragedy of the US naval officer and his Japanese wife, “Butterfly”, was not well-received in its original version, and Puccini went through revisions before getting the production to its current form.

Today Madame Butterfly ranks sixth in the most performed operas in the world, and the soprano solo, “Un bel di, vedremo”, is one of the most recognized and popular opera arias.

Recently modern audiences have been introduced to an adaption of Butterfly’s story in the Broadway musical, Miss Saigon.

Here is Homann’s masterful 1720 map of northwest Italy.  It displays the Italian Riviera on the bottom and extends to the Lake District on the top.  In between, to the right, is Milan, the industrial and fashion capital of Italy.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Antique Maps & Fun Facts here on Loveland Beacon.