bjgreen
By Betsy J. Green
The opera about a geisha at the Potter Theatre this month was unusual because a Japanese woman played the main character – a Japanese woman. (So many versions of this opera and a similar one called “The Mikado” featured Anglos in the starring role.)
Tamaki Miura was the featured performer. The local paper wrote, “The present revival, with the advantage not enjoyed by the original one, of having the central role sung by a native Japanese prima donna, will surpass the original in pictorial beauty and artistic distinction.” The performance was in English.
Betsy’s Way Back When book — 1918 — is now available in local bookstores and at Amazon.com. This is the fifth book in her series of the history of Santa Barbara, one year at a time. Learn more at
Great they used a Japanese woman in the lead. Amazingly the movies always used Anglos in Chinese or Japanese roles.