Japanese audiences, especially women, may have mixed feelings about Giacomo Puccini's opera "Madama Butterfly."

However, they may become intrigued when they learn that a new production, which tells the story of a geisha abandoned by her U.S. Navy officer husband, is being staged under the baton of Canadian Keri-Lynn Wilson — the first woman to conduct an orchestra at the New National Theatre, Tokyo (NNTT) in its 16-year history.

Ahead of her shows in Japan this fact was the last thing on Wilson's mind.