People: Aug. 25, 1986

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She has played the title role in Puccini's Madama Butterfly every year since she was 19 years old. Inevitably, Soprano Renata Scotto has developed some strong ideas about the role. Now she has a chance to test them: next month, in a revived production of Butterfly, Scotto will become the first diva ever to direct herself at the Met. "I'm really looking forward to seeing the role from another perspective," she admits. There is a disadvantage to wearing two hats, of course. "I'm used to relaxing in the dressing room when I'm not in rehearsals, or during the show," she says. "Now I'll be standing in the wings like a mother hen." Scotto wouldn't be the first director to worry about laying an egg.