Madama Butterfly - MET Live in HD

Anthony Minghella's breathtaking production has thrilled audiences ever since its premiere in 2006. Kristine Opolais reprises her acclaimed portrayal of the title role, opposite Roberto Alagna as Pinkerton, the naval officer who breaks Butterfly's heart. Hei-Kyung Hong, Roberto De Biasio, and Gwyn Hughes Jones star in a second set of performances. Karel Mark Chichon conducts.

Co-production of the Metropolitan Opera, English National Opera, and the Lithuanian National Opera

World premiere: Teatro alla Scala, Milan, 1904. Met premiere: February 11, 1907. The title character of Madama Butterfly—a young Japanese geisha who clings to the belief that her arrangement with a visiting American naval officer is a loving and permanent marriage—is one of the defining roles in opera. The story triggers ideas about cultural and sexual imperialism for people far removed from the opera house, and film, Broadway, and popular culture in general have riffed endlessly on it. The lyric beauty of Puccini’s score, especially the music for the thoroughly believable lead role, has made Butterfly timeless.

Review

“A gorgeous cinematic spectacle.”  The New York Times

Creators

Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) was immensely popular in his own lifetime, and his mature works remain staples in the repertory of most of the world’s opera companies. His librettists for Madama Butterfly, Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, had also collaborated with the composer on his previous two operas, Tosca and La Bohème. Giacosa, a dramatist, was responsible for the stories and Illica, a poet, worked primarily on the words themselves.

Production: Anthony Minghella
Director and Choreographer : Carolyn Choa
Set Designer : Michael Levine
Costume Designer :Han Feng
Lighting Designer :Peter Mumford
Puppetry :Blind Summit Theatre

The opera takes place in the Japanese port city of Nagasaki at the turn of the last century, at a time of expanding American international presence. Japan was hesitantly defining its global role, and Nagasaki was one of the country’s few ports open to foreign ships. Temporary marriages for foreign sailors were not unusual.

Music

Puccini achieved a new level of sophistication with his use of the orchestra in this score, with subtle colorings and sonorities throughout. But the opera rests squarely on the performer of the title role: on stage for most of the time, Cio-Cio-San is the only character that experiences true (and tragic) development. The singer must convey an astounding array of emotions and characteristics, from ethereal to fleshly to intelligent to dreamy-bordering-on-insane, to resigned in the final scene.

Met History

In 1907, Giacomo Puccini came to the United States for the first time for the Met premiere of Madama Butterfly. Geraldine Farrar (pictured) sang the title role, and her 139 appearances in this opera remain a Met record. While in New York, Puccini attended a Broadway performance of David Belasco’s play The Girl of the Golden West, which would become the basis for his next opera.

Duration: 198'
With English and Greek subtitles
Tickets: €18 - 13

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