Madama Butterfly on the Mall, Washington National Opera, The National Mall, Sunday, Nov. 12, 2 p.m.

Following the precedent of last year’s giant screen broadcast onto the Mall of Porgy and Bess, this Sunday the Washington National Opera’s live performance of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly is expected to be performed to one of the largest audiences in opera history. The performance at the Kennedy Center that afternoon is already sold out, as are three of the nine scheduled performances of this beloved opera so far. Clearly, the trusted favorites still gather the biggest crowds to our opera here, and why not? The rule of thumb is that the three most popular operas of all time are “A-B-C,” i.e. Aida, La Boheme and Carmen. But Ms. Butterfly cannot be far behind.