Photo by Dave Pearson
The Florentine Opera's ‘Madama Butterfly’
The Florentine Opera's ‘Madama Butterfly’
Madama Butterfly for the first time: Spoiler Alert—there isn’t a Hollywood happy ending. Since its 1904 debut, Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly has enthralled audiences with its tale of Cio-Cio-San (aka “Butterfly”), a naïve Japanese girl who falls in love with a visiting American officer, a cad by the name of Pinkerton. The climax is tragic, the music is glorious, and the arias soar through the ceiling.
The Florentine Opera brings Madama Butterfly back to Milwaukee, this time as a coproduction with the Virginia Opera and the Kentucky Opera. The three similarly sized companies are sharing the director, the set, the creative team and much of the cast.
“What’s exciting for our audience is knowing that our cast got extra rehearsal time, and has already brought this to the stage, together,” says the Florentine’s general director, Maggey Oplinger. “Operas get built in three short weeks, from first rehearsal to opening night. So that extra time building the show together translates to a richer artistic experience.”
At the time Puccini composed Madama Butterfly, the Japanese aesthetic was in vogue across the West, even in Wisconsin, where the spacious style of woodblock prints inspired Frank Lloyd Wright. However, Madama Butterfly’s libretto and music have transcended passing fashions.
Madama Butterfly’s director Mo Zhou shifted the setting from the fin de siècle to post-World War II Japan. In her staging, “Butterfly passionately believes that the best future for her and her child is the American dream—one that ultimately remains just out of grasp,” Oplinger explains.
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Photo by Dave Pearson
The Florentine Opera's ‘Madama Butterfly’
The Florentine Opera's ‘Madama Butterfly’
“This staging will show a traditional Butterfly look (Japanese traditional homes), but in the aftermath of war,” Oplinger continues, adding that Zhou “has found a way to embrace the traditional storytelling, while setting it in an era of change that really frames Butterfly’s experience. We’re also excited to welcome Asuka Morinaga, Japanese movement specialist, to the team. Mo’s focus on authentically portraying this society and culture actually makes the production more historically accurate.”
Puccini composed three of the most enduring operas of his era, Madama Butterfly, Turandot and La bohème. What is it about Puccini?
“I would say the quality of the music and its incredible connection to the text, as well as his ability to create the most effective atmosphere for the story,” Oplinger says. “The music and melodies are beautiful and memorable. He gets the maximum amount of color from the orchestra and is able to really sustain the story and highlight the most important moments. John Williams and Andrew Lloyd Webber are perfect examples of composers who learned from Puccini.”
October 18-20 at the Marcus Performing Arts Center’s Uihlein Hall. For tickets and more information, visit florentineopera.org.
