Admin

Organization

Singer

Soprano

Ermonela Jaho

Cio-Cio-San

Tenor

Marcelo Puente

B.F. Pinkerton

Baritone

Scott Hendricks

Sharpless

Carlo Bosi

Goro

Mezzo-soprano

Elizabeth DeShong

Suzuki

Bass

Jeremy White

Uncle Bonze

Emily Edmonds

Kate Pinkerton

Gyula Nagy

The imperial commissioner

Yuriy Yurchuk

Prince Yamadori

Conductor

Antonio Pappano

Stage director

Moshe Leiser

Patrice Caurier

Costume designer

Agostino Cavalca

Set designer

Christian Fenouillat

Chorus master

William Spaulding

Lighting designer

Christophe Forey

Royal Opera House

Others

Chorus of the Royal Opera House

Orchestra

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Italian

Madama Butterfly -  (Madame Butterfly)

London

United Kingdom

Puccini’s Japanese tragedy Madama Butterfly is given a ravishing production by The Royal Opera. Alluring images of Japan as seen in the 19th-century European imagination reflect the work’s intense depiction of the clash of East and West.

When the American naval officer Pinkerton seduces the young ‘Butterfly’ Cio-Cio-San, he seems to promise every happiness – but his cruel abandonment leads to her tragic self-sacrifice. Antonio Pappano, Music Director of The Royal Opera and renowned for his interpretations of Puccini, conducts an exceptionally fine cast with the Royal Opera Chorus and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. Powerful performances show why Madama Butterfly remains one of the all-time operatic favourites.

Madama Butterfly by G. Puccini, from The Royal Opera, 2017. Directed by Moshe Leiser / Patrice Caurier, conductor Antonio Pappano, starring Jeremy White, Scott Hendricks, Ermonela Jaho, Elizabeth DeShong, Carlo Bosi, Gyula Nagy, Marcelo Puente, Emily Edmonds and Yuriy Yurchuk. Performed in Italian and subtitled in English, German, French, Japanese and Korean.

Puccini’s Japanese tragedy Madama Butterfly is given a ravishing production by the Royal Opera. Its alluring imagery of Japan from the 19th-century European Imagination heightens the intense clash of East and West. When the American naval officer Pinkerton seduces the young ‘Butterfly’ Cio-Cio-San, he seems to promise every happiness – but his cruel abandonment leads to her tragic self-sacrifice. Antonio Pappano, Music Director of The Royal Opera and renowned for his interpretations of Puccini, conducts an exceptionally fine cast with the Royal Opera Chorus and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. This powerful performance shows why Madama Butterfly remains one of the all-time operatic favourites.

Ermonela Jaho's artistic range is simply astonishing. She effortlessly converts the work's extreme emotions into a musically compelling performance. Alongside her, even Marcelo Puente's highly powerful performance as Pinkterton risks being overshadowed.

One of the most beloved operas of all time, Madama Butterfly was born in an age when Europe was coming into closer contact with distant lands. Previously closed cultures like Japan fascinated westerners in ways that the Near East had fascinated their forebearers: the fascination portrayed in Madama Butterfly is a direct descendant of 17the century “Turkish Marches”, Gilbert and Sullivan’s Mikado, Pierre Loti’s Madame Chrysanthème (which heavily inspired Puccini), and Mascagni’s Iris. This universe at the crossroads of East and West is encapsulated well by the minimalist staging of Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier, which brings to mind traditional Japanese dwellings and waterways.

Like with La Fanciulla, Gianni Schicchi, and in particular Turandot, the success of a production of Madama Butterfly is heavily dependant on its protagonist: in this case, Cio-Cio-San, the young Japanese wife of the dashing American lieutenant Pinkerton. The Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho assumes this responsibility with great professionalism, giving an intimate and nuanced portrayal that concentrates all the opera’s dramatic intensity. Antonio Pappano, musical director of the Royal Opera House and celebrated Puccini specialist, leads the orchestra in a performance of rare expressivity.

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