That's why OCP's new Madama Butterfly signifies more than just its own excellence - because it rises above so many missteps that have come before it. Sculptor/set designer Jun Kaneko is back after last-season's Fidelio, but with an opera far better suited to his Asian stylization. The cast had none of the usual blunderbuss sopranos often hired here to signal Puccini. This tale of a Japanese geisha who is married and abandoned by an American Navy lieutenant was expressive though emotionally dignified under conductor Corado Rovaris.

For many operagoers, the quality of the experience depends on reactions to light-voiced Ermonela Jaho, better known for bel canto repertoire. At Friday's opening, she gave a musically precise and theatrically intelligent reading of the title role - a major vocal personality operating at full tilt. For me, that trumped any concerns about her vocal weight. Renata Tebaldi widows might disagree.

At first, the whole package felt emotionally cool. The set is full of clean, sweeping lines, not unlike the great designs of Wieland Wagner in the 1950s, and there is ceremonial formality in Cynthia Stokes' stage direction. Jaho sang softly at her entrance, as if meditating. When Butterfly was disowned by her family, there was no great sense of incident.

Even the big aria "Un bel di" (Butterfly's fantasy about her husband's return) felt like an uncomplicated (if deeply felt) expression of hope with little impending tragedy. Throughout the opera, though, Jaho's smallish voice allowed a more subtle word coloring than what's normally possible in Butterfly, drawing you more deeply into her psyche. She was physically expressive. When addressing Westerners, Jaho struck stylized poses as if showing you how she appeared to them, only to become more natural with her maid, Suzuki.

As in Greek tragedy, the restrained windup made the finale more devastating. Whether or not you loved all of Kaneko's graphics or quirky costume styling (I didn't), his keen color choices had an unconscious power, subtly taking you to emotional states without your realizing it.

Then came one of the best touches of all: As Butterfly bleeds to death by her own hand, does Lt. Pinkerton see her dying seconds? Does Butterfly get to glimpse him just before she expires? Director Stokes did neither. I won't spoil it for audiences who have yet to see it, but with the clean starkness of the sets, her choice has existential depths. Ultimately, the production made you see Butterfly's point of view: Suicide was her sole option.

The casting was generally good, with Troy Cook as a vocally secure and theatrically poised Sharpless and Maren Montalbano as an usually compassionate Kate Pinkerton; and Maria Zifchak was such a vocally affecting Suzuki that you immediately wanted to hear her in something bigger. As Pinkerton, tenor Roger Honeywell, reportedly battling a cold, had trouble sustaining tones and sometimes slipped into falsetto on high notes. One trusts that future performances will be healthier.

Madama Butterfly

Music by Giacomo Puccini, libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Conducted by Corrado Rovaris, directed by Cynthia Stokes, set and costume design by Jun Kaneko.

Cast:

Ermonela Jaho . . . Butterfly

Roger Honeywell . . . . . . ... Lt. B.F. Pinkerton

David Portillo . . . Goro

Maria Zifchak . . . Suzuki

Troy Cook . . . Sharpless

Elliot Madore . . . Yamadori

Maren Montalbano . . . Kate Pinkerton

Performances

Tomorrow, Friday and Sunday at the Academy of Music. Information: 215-893-1018 or www.operaphila.org