Stunning, innovative, stirring: Hawai'i Opera Theatre was at its best Friday night, in a production directed by Karen Tiller, designed by Jun Kaneko, and conducted by Joel Revzen.

Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" has been performed many, many times in Honolulu, but not like this.

Opera is too complex ever to be perfect, but at Friday night's opening, the innumerable elements that constitute opera were executed so well and intertwined so smoothly as to be dazzling.

Although both of Chinese descent, soprano Shu Ying Li (Madame Butterfly) and mezzo-soprano Yun Deng (Suzuki) became thoroughly Japanese with a perfect mix of voices and manners, compelling acting and expressive singing. Their interactions were especially riveting, as while strewing rose petals - so tender, so sweet! - and in the letter scene of Act II. Together, the two were fabulous.

Kip Wilborn made a deliciously dastardly Pinkerton, an appealing bravura tenor ameliorating callow sensibilities. Two young singers from Hawai'i, appearing regularly on the Mainland, filled major roles: resonant baritone Quinn Kelsey as the sympathetic Sharpless, and tenor Jeremy Blossey as the charming Goro. Tenor Erik Haines (Prince Yamadori) and baritone John Mount (the Bonze) delivered nice cameo roles.

Staging, too, was wonderful, extending even to details: Tiller's directing and the singers' contributions meshed seamlessly. Conductor Revzen melded orchestra and singers, giving the impression of all forces being in sync, especially in the crucial second act.

The most striking aspect of the production, however, was its stunning design, created by artist Jun Kaneko for Opera Omaha and one of the finest HOT has staged.

The bamboo-slat-like curtain covered in kimonos, their colors and patterns reminiscent of national flags and navy signal flags, set the tone by juxtaposing squares and rounds. That juxtaposition permeated the production, so that the old adage of fitting square pegs into round holes (Western/Eastern) lingered.

Kaneko's spare set featured a curved ramp leading to a round dais, which was sometimes connected by or cut through with a shoji door and other times stood in isolation, the backdrop a cyclorama (a featureless curtain suggesting unlimited space and on which the play of light can reflect moods). Bold black lines curved from the ramp around the dais, recalling raked lines in a manicured rock garden and echoing the flow of action encircling Butterfly.

Borrowing from bunraku, Japanese puppet theater, Kaneko used black-clad stage hands (meant to be "invisible") to transform the stage and to make props gracefully appear and disappear as needed.

For the famous waiting scene, a 7- to 8-minute passage portraying an interminable night, Kaneko projected onto three square screens symbolic images of thoughts, impressions, and dreams, as much modern art as theater.

Lighting by Peter Dean Beck reflected minute shifts in mood, from festive splendor to the flat, dull tones of a shattered life. During the wedding and while Butterfly and Suzuki prepared for Pinkerton's return, the stage glowed in warm pinks and oranges, with ribbons or rose petals fluttering.

Neutral tones on an empty stage underscored abandonment more effectively than words. The news that Pinkerton was not returning was delivered in black and white, and in the final scene, Butterfly/Japan, in an austere white spotlight surrounded by cool blue seas, died upon the dais.

Throughout, colorful polka dots, on kimonos, as parasols, the dais itself, recurred, finally coalescing into one large red circle on white — the Japanese flag. Like the flag, Butterfly, her red heart "beating wildly" and clad in a white wedding (Western) / death (Eastern) kimono, chose the only honorable path and committed suicide. The flag began to bleed, long drips of red staining the pure white.

The whole presented a powerful artistic and political statement and received a well-deserved, enthusiastic standing ovation.

Even if you've seen "Madama Butterfly" a dozen times, don't miss this one. But be forewarned: Friday night was sold out.