Drawing upon his expertise on Chinatown nightclubs, Arthur Dong has been appointed Historical Dramaturge for the Boston Lyric Opera’s re-imagined production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. Phil Chan, co-founder of the advocacy group Final Bow for Yellowface, directs this brand-new production that takes place in 1940s America under the shadow of World War II in San Francisco. Amid Puccini’s lush and sweeping score, Chan’s radical re-envisioning unfolds through the story of Butterfly, a Chinatown nightclub performer, and Pinkerton, a young soldier on the eve of his deployment. Performances are slated for September 14-24, 2023 at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston. More info here. Download the Boston Globe feature story here.