Butterfly Lands on Flutist’s Face During Flute Competition: The Show Must Go On

Last Monday, Yukie Ota, a Japanese born flutist now living in Chicago, was performing in the first round of the Carl Nielsen International Flute Competition in Denmark, when a butterfly flitted across the stage and landed, rather inconveniently, on the bridge of her nose. Not missing a beat — er, a note — Ota took a quick glance at the critter, and played on, unfazed. On the merits of her performance, Ota made it to the final round of the competition held on Saturday. She eventually lost out to Sébastian Jacot, who apparently played the entire competition with a damaged flute. In other news, you can check out Vladimir Nabokov’s delightful butterfly drawings here.

via NPR H/T Mike S.

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