The I-Hate-Opera-Guide to Madama Butterfly 2021 - by Philip Eisenbeiss

The I-Hate-Opera-Guide

By

Philip Eisenbeiss

- for Opera Hong Kong, September 2021 What’s to hate about Madama Butterfly? Nothing. It’s just too popular to hate.

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It’s one of the top ten most frequently performed operas

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It’s about love, loyalty, longing and a catastrophically ill-fated relationship between a visiting US naval officer and a 15-year-old Japanese girl (yes, it’s politically incorrect, but it was written in 1904 and things were different then!)

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It features one of the world’s best-known operatic arias: Un bel di vedremo

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Italian operatic giant Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) blends his melodic genius with oriental musical themes and even some American tunes

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It consists of three acts, none over an hour; the full running time is only 2 hours and 20 minutes. That’s super short for an Italian opera! You won’t even have a chance to fall asleep

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This is the one opera that is absolutely guaranteed to make you cry and sob. So let yourself go and bring plenty of tissues!

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And remember: Opera features full orchestra, chorus and soloists. And there is no acoustic or electronic amplification!

You’ll recognize much of the music of Madama Butterfly. But take the time to get better acquainted in under 20 minutes, so you will enjoy the live performance even more: The opera opens with a super short orchestral overture, doing little more than setting the scene. And then the story gets going. The location is Nagasaki in Japan, where the visiting American naval officer Pinkerton rents a house to be with his future wife Cio-Cio-san (that’s Japanese for Madame Butterfly, sort of) who he is marrying purely for fun and convenience. She has other feelings, however, and is in love with the American; she has even converted to Christianity for him. The conversion causes her family to reject her, but she is steadfast in her love.

The first act ends in one of the most beautiful duets ever written, where Butterfly and Pinkerton declare their love.

Watch this excerpt from the Royal Opera House which features much of the thematic music that is reprised throughout the opera, so do take your time! Take note of the vocal difficulties, especially for the soprano, who needs both vocal strength but also incredible lightness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmaQfmg0Rk0

The second act plays three years later, with Butterfly still waiting for her husband to return. Duhhh! She ignores the implorations of her maid, Suzuki, who says Pinkerton isn’t coming back, and Goro, the marriage broker, who is eager to marry her off again.

Sharpless, the American Consul, drops by with a letter from Pinkerton saying he will return to Japan. But he only reads part of the letter aloud; the American knows his colleague has moved on romantically. Cio-Cio-san is enormously excited and reveals the biggest reason for her loyalty: she has been hiding a son born from her relationship

with Pinkerton.

The highlight of this act is Butterfly’s aria, Un bel di vedremo (One fine day we’ll see…), where she phantasizes about Pinkerton’s return and how she will greet him.

Watch Albanian superstar Ermonela Jaho in one of the most famous productions from New York’s Metropolitan Opera. This is not only an unforgettably beautiful aria, but also vocally demanding. It’s just 4 minutes! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIoFRzUzvfc

The second act ends with a beautiful humming chorus, leading right into the third act.

The Consul Sharpless escorts Pinkerton, along with his new American wife, Kate, to Butterfly’s house where he plans to take her child to raise it in America. But he becomes emotional, chickens out and runs away, leaving Sharpless and Suzuki to break the news to Butterfly.

But the cowardly Pinkerton gets to sing this gorgeous short aria, recognizing his failings: Addio fiorito asil https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umt05h8DBl4

Butterfly agrees to give up her son, provided Pinkerton personally comes to collect him and see her. However, she says farewell to her son and commits suicide with her father’s knife. Pinkerton rushes in, but of course much too late. It’s opera, after all: we need a dramatic end.

Watch the finale, Butterfly’s farewell from her son, and her suicide scene. This is one of the most emotional moments in opera. Here with Ermonela Jaho again https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aiw12ZnpjBo.

By this time, you’ll be emotionally drained.

If you’ve done all the above homework, here is a small parting gift. Watch Anna Netrebko, Russian superstar soprano and certainly the most famous female singer alive, sing Un bel di vedremo in a concert format. No subtitles, no scenery, just magnificent singing. Enjoy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIXjFdkA6VU