Extract: "Siegfried & the Avalanche"

He trailed behind, carrying his snowboard across both shoulders. “You mean Asian women don’t kill themselves over love?”

“I told you a thousand times. Asian women are survivors. Even geishas. If Pinkerton left Butterfly, she wouldn’t kill herself in real life. More likely she’d open a nail salon.”

We trudged up the slope.

After some consideration, Siegfried said, “So, if I were to write an opera set in China – “

“Hong Kong.”

“Hong Kong – why would the Asian heroine commit suicide? And how?”

I considered, mentally running through tabloid headlines. “Her lover lost money in the stock market. Or, he’s being investigated for corruption. Shamed, she throws herself out of a forty-storey condo window.”

“Hm. I can’t really work with that.”

“Or she seals the windows and burns charcoal in a charcoal burner and asphyxiates.”

Siegfried turned to me, eyes shining. “Burning charcoal?”

“Sure. A lot of people commit suicide like that in Hong Kong. But I think dumping yourself in an avalanche is better for theater,” I said hastily. “You’ll never get my idea past the fire marshal.”