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Madama Butterfly Spreads Her Wings This Spring
City Opera presents Puccini’s tale of catastrophic culture collision
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There’s something truly heart-wrenching about the classic and oft-performed opera Madama Butterfly, a tragic romance gone awry in 1907 Nagasaki, written by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. A young, naïve Japanese girl, Cio-Cio San, whose delicate beauty earns her the name that serves as the work’s title, is married to an American Naval Officer, B.F. Pinkerton. While Butterfly believes that the pair is married for life and falls deeply in love with Pinkerton, the American views the marriage as a “farce”. Needless to say, the narrative ends on a dour note; Butterfly’s spirit is crushed beyond repair, even though her husband has been warned not to “pluck off her delicate butterfly wings.”
Madama Butterfly is one of the most frequently performed operas of the modern age; even in its infancy in the 1910’s, the opera graced stages from South America to London to Australia. The current production by the New York City Opera breathes new life into Puccini’s classic. The opera will open with Shu-Ying Li returning as the titular character and Steven Harrison as Pinkerton. Mark Lamos’ production is noted for its intimate qualities; the veteran theater director-now-producer finds a way to balance the extravagant staging that the show requires with human, emotional portrayals. The result is both stunning and soulful.
Madama Butterfly was supposedly based on actual events, and one has to wonder if the reason for its popularity isn’t due to the spark of truth in its tale; perhaps even in 1907, Puccini saw in America the makings of Empire. As history has revealed new layers, playing out the central theme of Butterfly (the reality of a clash of very different cultures) one thing stands as an everlasting truth—Madama Butterfly’s twisted tale of love and cruelty has stood the test of time. Puccini’s classic will enjoy its run at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center March 19–April 18, 2010. For more information about the City Opera’s presentation of Madama Butterfly, please visit www.nycopera.com or call (212) 721-6500.