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A performance worthy of New York City or London will grace a stage in Steamboat Springs tonight and Sunday.

The comparison to the Big Apple is no exaggeration. In Emerald City Opera's performance of "Madama Butterfly," which opens tonight at Steamboat Springs High School, six of the seven principals, or leading singers, have performed with The Metropolitan Opera in New York City. One of those is baritone Keith Miller, a rising opera star who gave the first vocal recital of his career in Steamboat Springs in March 2006. The seventh principal is Emerald City Opera founder and artistic director Keri Rusthoi, herself an acclaimed soprano singer.

"This is, by far, the strongest cast we've ever had," Rusthoi said. "Every single one of these artists has been under contract with The Metropolitan Opera, which is the greatest opera house in the world right now. : This is like the Super Bowl."

A strong supporting cast, an energetic local chorus and an orchestra that includes cellist John Sant'Ambrogio will back the ensemble of virtuoso operatic voices.

"This is going to be the best show Emerald City Opera ever put on," said Rusthoi, who has fostered Emerald City's growth since the group's beginning in 2002.

For "Madama Butterfly," an Italian opera by Giacomo Puccini that is set in Nagasaki, Japan, in the 1890s, Emerald City Opera is pulling out all the stops.

Set designers from Opera Cleveland. Wig and makeup designers from Opera Columbus, also in Ohio. Lighting technicians from Texas.

"We have to Fed Ex everything in - wigs, props, etc.," Rusthoi said. "It takes all year to put together one opera production of this quality."

"Madama Butterfly" is the story of an abandoned young woman who prays for her lover's return, only to see her faithful honor rewarded with selfishness that causes a dire chain of tragic events. But the performance is laced with humor as well, which coupled with brilliantly colored costumes - think kimonos, powdered faces and elegant wigs - and singing that will rattle the rafters, is not a show to miss.

"Madama Butterfly" will be sung in Italian, with English subtitles projected onto a screen adjacent to the stage.

"It's a total miracle to have an opera production in a town like Steamboat," Rusthoi said. "And it's an amazing miracle to have the quality of production that is being presented."