Puccini’s Madama Butterfly is one of the most popular operas—though it didn’t start out that way. After its original 1904 production, critics called it “one of the most terrible flops in Italian opera history.” In the time since, however, it’s become the sixth most-performed opera in the world. This March, the Pittsburgh Opera will be performing a unique production of Madama Butterfly.
Pittsburgh Opera Brings New Take on Madama Butterfly to Life
The story starts in the Japanese port city of Nagasaki, where an American naval officer, Pinkerton, is marrying Cio-Cio San (Meaning “Madame Butterfly,” an Italianized version of Chocho-san or 蝶々さん), a Japanese teenager. Cio-Cio is in love with Pinkerton. As for Pinkerton, he…likes to hang around with her while he’s stationed in Japan, which at the time had very loose divorce laws. The story is one that many of us, particularly women, know too well: You fall in love and see Mr. Right in someone who sees himself as more of a Mr. Right Now. Cio-Cio San and Pinkerton’s courtship develops into relationship, but as with many operatic storylines, it escalates into betrayal and tragedy.
Stage Director Melanie Bacaling of the Pittsburgh Opera agreed that “Madama Butterfly has some of Puccini’s most honest and heartbreaking music. He has a way of molding your heart to feel for the characters through the drama of his score.” Part of what has made opera persist for so long as an art form is the way the music can access complex emotions we often intellectualize in words. With music, we skip the analysis and just feel.
A New Interpretation of Puccini’s Libretto
Frequently, the elephant in the room about Madama Butterfly is that white actors portray Japanese characters. The depiction of Japan falls into orientalist, exoticizing tropes, particularly around Japanese women. The production at the Pittsburgh Opera, however, has a Japanese cast and production team in order to allow the story to grow with further cultural context and lived experience behind it.
Though all opera has an element of magic, this production has a fantastical, futuristic element to it. The story still takes place in turn-of-the-last-century Japan, but sees Pinkerton putting himself in a virtual reality where he knows he can “win” Cio-Cio-san. It features technicolor-esque, futuristic scenic design by dots (Kimie Nishikawa), saturated, sensual lighting design by Yuki Nakase Link, and inventive but period-appropriate costume design by Maiko Matsushima.
The change in scenic framing allows the designers a chance to shine and for modern viewers to experience something different. “While [the set design] is a unique container for this story, the music and libretto are completely intact. This story framing enhances the themes already present in the opera, giving an opportunity for the score and narrative to feel richer for modern audiences,” Bacaling said.
This production of Madama Butterfly originated with the Cincinnati Opera and will go to the Utah Opera after Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh, you can catch it on March 22, 25, 28, and 30.
Story by Emma Riva
Photo by Philip Groshong, courtesy of the Pittsburgh Opera
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