That they would be seeing Madame Butterfly in its original language makes perfect sense for Lex's character. I couldn't see him wanting to see it if it wasn't in its original language. It would be kin to Lex buying a copy of a famous piece of artwork. He's definitely an "original or nothing" sort of guy.
True, but that probably would not be an issue here. Even in the 1990's, opera houses were using surtitles. They project the English translation of the original-language libretto onto a small screen above the stage (like movie subtitles, but above the screen instead of below). That way Lex could listen in Italian (
Un bel di vedremo... ) while Lois reads, "One fine day..."
Surtitles are great for the monolingual opera-goer - you can follow the plot and learn what's going on while the music flows, like in
this duet from Bizet's "The Pearl Fishers".
