Organization

Stage director

Stage director (+3)

Damiano Michieletto

Costume designer

Costume designer (+2)

Carla Teti

Lighting designer

Lighting designer (+1)

Marco Filibeck

Chorusmaster

Chorusmaster (+1)

José Luis Basso

Mezzo-soprano (+2)

Marta Fontanals-Simmons

Kate Pinkerton

Teatro Real de Madrid

Teatro Regio di Torino

Set designer

Set designer (+1)

Paolo Fantin

Assistant Lighting Designer

Jenny Cappelloni

Chorus

Intermezzo

Orchestra

Madrid Symphony Orchestra

Baritone (+2)

Andrés Mundo

Uncle Yakusidé

Bass-baritone (+2)

Xavier Casademont

The imperial commissioner

Mezzo-soprano

Elena Castresana

Cio-Cio San's mother

Soprano

Debora Abramowicz

The aunt

Soprano (+1)

Legipsy Álvarez

The cousin

Teatro Real

Conductor

Conductor (+2)

Nicola Luisotti

Bass

Nacho Ojeda

The official registrar

Tenor

Mikeldi Atxalandabaso

Goro

Fernando Radó

Uncle Bonze

Baritone (+3)

Tomeu Bibiloni

Prince Yamadori

Gerardo Bullón

Sharpless

Tenor (+1)

Moisés Marín

Toni Marsol

Bass (+3)

George Andguladze

Tenor (+2)

Matthew Polenzani

B.F. Pinkerton

Mezzo-soprano (+3)

Silvia Beltrami

Suzuki

Gemma Coma-Alabert

Lucas Meachem

Soprano (+3)

Ailyn Pérez

Cio-Cio-San

Saioa Hernández

Tenor (+3)

Charles Castronovo

Mezzo-soprano (+4)

Nino Surguladze

Lianna Haroutounian

Michael Fabiano

Baritone (+7)

Luis Cansino

Bass-baritone (+1)

Iñigo Martin

Conductor (+1)

Luis Miguel Méndez

Leonardo Capalbo

Barno Ismatullaeva

Aleksandra Kurzak

The poignant story of love, loss, betrayal and sacrifice from one of the public's favourite operas continues to captivate audiences, although with a contemporary eye it can be seen as a very raw story about the young geisha. Damiano Michieletto moves Madama Butterfly to a slum in an oriental

The Japanese civil code of 1898 – the Horei– established a legal framework which governed diverse aspects of public life as part of the libretto of Madama Butterfly. These include marriage, family rejection, divorce, or adoption. Imperialism, mixed race, and xenophobia are also elements of a narrative harness which navigates the well-mannered and acquiescent Oriental clichés of the preceding century while integrating the story of Cio-Cio San in a few coordinates of realism.

The finesse of Puccini’s score   - in whose music authentic Japanese melodies resonate: «Izuki Uta», «Echigo-Jishi», «Sakurá», «Miyasan, Miyasan» or the Japanese national anthem «Kimi ga yo»– softens the edges of the drama without dismissing its tragic and sordid base, to construct what is probably the composer’s most well-done and profound feminine portrait. Along this line, Damiano Michieletto moves the action to a modern marginal neighbourhood of a big Asian city as a denunciation of a reality - sexual tourism - which lies at the heart of this iconic opera.

Production from Teatro Regio Torino

A tribute to Victoria de los Ángeles (1923-2005) in commemoration of the centenary of her birth (1 November 1923)