Madam Butterfly

Synopsis

An American naval officer (Pinkerton) 'acquires' a 15 year old Geisha wife during a stay in Japan - but has no intention of staying with her. After a while he returns to the USA and marries his fiancee. Meanwhile, Butterfly waits for him for three years, cut off from her family, religion and culture by being an American wife. And she is now a mother. When he finally returns she is overjoyed, but he brings with him his new wife. Story originally published in a magazine.

Our Review:

Keith McDonnell - 8 May 2012

The late Anthony Minghella’s award-winning staging of Madam Butterfly returns to the Coliseum with the two main principals from the original run seven years ago reprising their roles – Mary Plazas as Cio-Cio San and Gwyn Hughes Jones as Pinkerton. Although revived several times since then, I hadn’t returned to this staging since it was new. Why? Because I hated it. Back in 2005 I found it glacial and superficial, especially as memories of Graham Vick’s gritty staging that had served ENO well throughout the nineties, were indelibly printed on my mind. Its successor, I thought, lacked substance and more importantly a heart.

Well that was then. This time round I found it far more palatable. For one, it’s breathtakingly beautiful to look at. Bathed in Peter Mumford’s exquisite lighting, Michael Levine’s designs and Han Feng’s costumes create some of the most enchanting stage pictures to be seen on operatic stage, and this ...

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