As acclaimed singers and a creative team prepare for Greensboro Opera’s production of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly,” they grapple with heartache onstage and off.

Through staging and song, they will tell the tragic story of a young Japanese woman’s love for an American naval officer, and the anguish that results.

David Holley, general and artistic director of the nonprofit opera company, has brought in a stellar, professional cast.

Sopranos Jill Gardner and Katie Horn-Pershall. Baritones David Pershall and Ryan Hill. Tenors Cody Austin and Jacob Ryan Wright. Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Foley Davis. Bass baritone Donald Hartmann. An 18-member chorus.

“I cannot wait to present this wonderful, glorious opera to the Greensboro public,” Holley said.

Yet off stage, Holley copes with an all-too-real heartbreak of his own.

Laura Holley. Photo by David Holley

The opening performance of “Madama Butterfly” will be dedicated to Laura Holley, who died on a family outing in August.

Read the full article by Dawn Kane at https://bit.ly/2rJtHd5…