Puccini Opera Madama Butterfly

Classical Music / Opera

Madama Butterfly (Madame Butterfly) is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.

 

It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther Long, which in turn was based on stories told to Long by his sister Jennie Correll and on the semi-autobiographical 1887 French novel Madame Chrysanthème by Pierre Loti. Long's version was dramatized by David Belasco as the one-act play Madame Butterfly: A Tragedy of Japan, which, after premiering in New York in 1900, moved to London, where Puccini saw it in the summer of that year.

 

On February 17, 1904, Giacomo Puccini's masterpiece, Madama Butterfly premiered at Teatro alla Scala, sung in Italian. 

 

The opera, briefly

 

Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton, an officer in the U.S. Navy, is captivated with Cio-Cio San, a young geisha, known as 'Madam Butterfly'. Pinkerton's desire for Butterfly is so strong that he would do anything to have her. He therefore arranges through Goro, a marriage broker, to marry her in a Japanese wedding ceremony.

 

This tale of a young Japanese geisha who marries an American naval officer who then leaves her explores themes of devotion and responsibility, fidelity and justice. 

 

Food for thought: It should be noted that 'Madama Butterfly' was composed by Puccini during the 18th and 19th century opera – quite different from the current gender and racial implications, to a degree that no small number of hyper-critical observers are demanding its removal from the repertoire entirely for what may be construed as racist. Simply, let's enjoy the show, the music, the performance.  

 

Opera Cast: 

 

Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly)	soprano
Suzuki, her maid	mezzo-soprano
B.F. Pinkerton,  Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy	tenor
Sharpless, U.S. consul at Nagasaki	baritone
Goro, a matchmaker	tenor
Prince Yamadori	tenor
The Bonze, Cio-Cio-san's uncle	bass
Yakusidé, Cio-Cio-san's uncle	bass
The Imperial Commissioner	bass
The Official Registrar	bass
Cio-Cio-san's mother	mezzo-soprano
The aunt	soprano
The cousin	soprano
Kate Pinkerton	mezzo-soprano
Dolore ("Sorrow"), Cio-Cio-san's child	silent
Cio-Cio-san's relatives and friends and servants

 

Video: 2018.Puccini - Madama Butterfly full Opera english subtitles. Soprano Mirella Freni Tenore Placido Domingo. 

 

Synopsis:

Act I. 

Japan, at the turn of the 20th century. Lieutenant Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton of the U.S. Navy inspects a house overlooking Nagasaki harbor he is leasing from Goro, a marriage broker. The house comes with three servants and a geisha wife named Cio-Cio-San, known as 'Madam Butterfly'. Subject to a monthly renewal, the lease runs for 999 years. Sharpless, the American consul, arrives breathless from climbing the hill. Pinkerton describes his philosophy of the fearless Yankee roaming the world in search of experience and pleasure. He intends to marry Butterfly although unsure of his feelings for the young girl. Sharpless warns him that the girl may view the marriage differently, but Pinkerton brushes off such concerns and says someday he will take a real, American wife. He offers the consul whiskey and proposes a toast. Butterfly arrives with her friends for the ceremony. After the formal introduction, Butterfly admits her age is 15, and explains that her family was once prominent but now earns a living as a geisha to earn her living. Her relatives arrive for the marriage of Butterfly to Pinkerton. Cio-Cio-San shows Pinkerton her few possessions and tells him that she has been to the Christian mission and will embrace her husband’s religion. The Imperial Commissioner reads the marriage agreement, and the relatives congratulate the couple. Suddenly, a threatening voice is heard from afar—it is the priest Bonze, Butterfly’s uncle. He curses the girl for going to the mission and rejecting her ancestral religion. Pinkerton orders them to leave, and as they go, the Bonze and the relatives denounce Cio-Cio-San. Pinkerton tries to console Butterfly. Suzuki helps her into her wedding kimono before the couple meets in the garden, where they make love.

Act II. 

Three years have passed. Cio-Cio-San continuously awaits her husband’s return. Suzuki prays to the gods for help, but Butterfly berates her for believing in lazy Japanese gods rather than in Pinkerton’s promise to return.  Sharpless appears with a letter from Pinkerton, but before he can read it to Butterfly, Goro arrives with the latest suitor, the wealthy Prince Yamadori. Butterfly politely serves the guests tea but insists she is not available for marriage—as she awaits her husbands return. Sharpless attempts to read Pinkerton’s letter and suggests that perhaps Butterfly should reconsider Yamadori’s offer. In response, she presents the consul with her young son by Pinkerton. She says that his name is “Sorrow,” but will be called "Joy" when his father returns. Unable to read Pinkerton's letter, Sharpless leaves, promising to tell the former of the child. A cannon shot in the harbor announces the arrival of a ship. Butterfly and Suzuki take a telescope to the terrace and read the name of the vessel—it is Pinkerton’s. Overjoyed, Butterfly joins Suzuki in decorating the house  to welcome Pinkerton. Butterfly, her son, and Suzuki settle into a vigil watching over the harbor but  with no Pinkerton in sight.

Act III.

Another Dawn breaks. Suzuki insists that Butterfly get some sleep. Butterfly carries the child into the house. Sharpless appears with Pinkerton and Kate, Pinkerton’s new wife. Suzuki realizes who the American woman is and agrees to help break the news to Butterfly. Pinkerton is overcome with guilt and runs from the scene, pausing to remember his days in the little house. Cio-Cio-San rushes in hoping to find Pinkerton, but sees Kate instead. Grasping the situation, she agrees to give up her son but insists Pinkerton return for him. Dismissing everyone, Butterfly takes out the dagger with which her father committed suicide, choosing to die with honor rather than live in shame. She is interrupted when the child comes in, but Butterfly says goodbye and blindfolds him. She stabs herself as Pinkerton arrives, calling out for her.

 

Video Credit:

2018.Puccini - Madama Butterfly full Opera english subtitles Soprano Mirella Freni Tenore Placido Domingo. YouTube, uploaded by Giacomo James. Accessed February 17, 2023. (Note: Herbert Von Karajan, Norbert Balatsch; Wiener Philarmoniker, staged and directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. Artists: Mirella Freni, Placido Domingo, Christa Ludwig, Robert Kerns, Michel Sénéchal, Marius Rintzler, Elke Schary, Giorgio Stendoro.)

 

Resources:

Madama Butterfly. en.wikipedia.org.  

Martin, Nicholas Ivor. The Da Capo Opera Manual. Da Capo Press, NY. 1997.

 

(c) February 17, 2018. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.

Maria Callas

Classical Music / Operatic Sopranos

Maria Callas, (born Cecilia Sophia Anna Kalogeropoulou). She was a New York-born Greek soprano, one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Her musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as La Divina. Many critics praised her bel canto technique,  wide-ranging voice and dramatic interpretations. Her repertoire ranged from classical opera seria to the bel canto operas of Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini, and to the works of Verdi and Puccini, and early in her career, to the music dramas of Wagner.

Timeline:

Dec 2, 1923.  Maria Callas is born in New York, U.S.A.

Sept 28, 1937. She moves back to Greece with her mother, and begins training with Madam Elvira Heldago, National Conservatory.

Sept 28, 1940.  Her auditions haven't been going as well until she is asked to audition for the General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera. He offers her the leading roles in two productions of the 1946/1947 season. Maria turns down the contract.   

November 1, 1940.  She makes her professional stage debut in Boccaccio. (age 17)

1941. Makes her debut as Tosca, in Athens. 

1947. Earns  wide acclaim singing Gioconda at the Verona Arena. 

January 19, 1949.  I Puritani is performed in Venice shortly after, starring the Italian soprano Margherita Carosio as Elvira. One night, Maria begins sight-reading Elvira's music as Carosio falls ill. Conductor Serafin's wife hears Maria. She is offered the role of Elvira.

April 21, 1949.  She marries Giovanni Battista Meneghini, a man almost 30 years her senior.

December 7, 1950.  La Scala, the famous Milan theatre offers her a leading role. She opens the 1950/1951 season with I Vespri Siciliani, a success with good reviews.

July 1, 1952.  She signs an exclusive recording contract with Walter Legge, EMI director.

1952 & 1956. Her early repertory includes Wagner but soon became identified with bel canto roles, singing Norma at her London (1952) and New York (1956). 

December 19, 1958. Maria Callas performs an aria from her signature role, Bellini's druid priestess Norma, with the Orchestre de l'Opera National de Paris and Georges Sebastian. Recorded live at the Palais Garnier on the 19th of December 1958, this concert marked the soprano's debut at the Paris Opera, a major social event for Parisians and for which Callas donned her most elegant couture and a million dollars' worth of jewelry. (Maria Callas sings "Casta Diva" (Bellini: Norma, Act 1). Youtube, uploaded by Warner Classics. Accessed December 19, 2015.)

Maria Callas interpreting Bellini's Norma, "Casta Diva".  Act I.  Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala, Milan Tullio Serafin, Conductor. Recorded in the Cinema Metropol, Milan, 1954. (Uploaded by Dennis Tschirner. Accessed December 2, 2015.)




January 1, 1942.  Nazi Germany invades Greece in April 1941, under Italian occupation. This day she is asked to perform in Puccini's Tosca at the Athens Opera.