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Madama Butterfly

Madama Butterfly (Italian pronunciation: [maˈdaːma ˈbatterflai]; Madame Butterfly) is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.

Madama Butterfly
Opera by Giacomo Puccini
Original 1904 poster by Adolfo Hohenstein
Librettist
LanguageItalian
Based on
Premiere
17 February 1904 (1904-02-17)
La Scala, Milan

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.[1][2][3] 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.[4]

The original version of the opera, in two acts, had its premiere on 17 February 1904 at La Scala in Milan. It was poorly received, despite having such notable singers as soprano Rosina Storchio, tenor Giovanni Zenatello and baritone Giuseppe De Luca in lead roles. This was due in part to a late completion by Puccini, which gave inadequate time for rehearsals. Puccini revised the opera, splitting the second act in two, with the Humming Chorus as a bridge to what became Act III, and making other changes. Success ensued, starting with the first performance on 28 May 1904 in Brescia.[5]

Versions edit

 
Solomiya Krushelnytska as Butterfly, c. 1904

Puccini wrote five versions of the opera. The original two-act version,[6] which was presented at the world premiere at La Scala on 17 February 1904, was withdrawn after the disastrous premiere. Puccini then substantially rewrote it, this time in three acts. This second version[7] was performed on 28 May 1904 in Brescia, where it was a great success, with Solomiya Krushelnytska as Cio-Cio-san. It was this second version that premiered in the United States in 1906, first in Washington, D.C., in October, and then in New York in November, performed by Henry Savage's New English Opera Company (so named because it performed in English-language translations).[citation needed]

In 1906, Puccini wrote a third version,[8] which was performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on 11 February 1907. Later that year, Puccini made several changes in the orchestral and vocal scores, and this became the fourth version.[9]

Again in 1907, Puccini made his final revisions to the opera in a fifth version,[10][11] which has become known as the "Standard Version" and is the one which is most often performed today. However, the original 1904 version is occasionally performed, such as for the opening of La Scala's 2016-17 season, on 7 December 2016, with Riccardo Chailly conducting.[12]

Performance history edit

Premieres of versions of Madama Butterfly in major opera houses throughout the world include the Teatro de la Opera de Buenos Aires on 2 July 1904, under Arturo Toscanini, this being the first performance in the world outside Italy. Its first performance in Britain was in London on 10 July 1905 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, while the first US performance was presented in English on 15 October 1906, in Washington, D.C., at the Columbia Theater. The first performance in New York took place on 12 November of the same year at the Garden Theatre.[13] The Metropolitan Opera first performed the opera on 11 February 1907 under the supervision of the composer with Geraldine Farrar as Cio-Cio-San, Enrico Caruso as Pinkerton, Louise Homer as Suzuki, Antonio Scotti as Sharpless, with Arturo Vigna conducting;[14] Madama Butterfly has since been heard virtually every season at the Met except for a hiatus during World War II from 1942 through 1945 due to the hostilities between the United States and Japan. The first Australian performance was presented at the Theatre Royal in Sydney on 26 March 1910, starring Amy Eliza Castles.[15]

Between 1915 and 1920, Japan's best-known opera singer Tamaki Miura won international fame for her performances as Cio-Cio-San. A memorial to this singer, along with one to Puccini, can be found in the Glover Garden in the port city of Nagasaki, where the opera is set.[16]

Roles edit

Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 17 February 1904
Conductor: Cleofonte Campanini[17]
Brescia cast, 28 May 1904
Conductor: Cleofonte Campanini[18]
Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly) soprano Rosina Storchio Solomiya Krushelnytska
Suzuki, her maid mezzo Giuseppina Giaconia Giovanna Lucaszewska [fr]
B.F. Pinkerton, Lt. in the U.S. Navy[19]: 73–4  tenor Giovanni Zenatello Giovanni Zenatello
Sharpless, U.S. consul at Nagasaki baritone Giuseppe De Luca Virgilio Bellatti [fr]
Goro, a matchmaker tenor Gaetano Pini-Corsi [fr] Gaetano Pini-Corsi
Prince Yamadori baritone Emilio Venturini Fernando Gianoli Galletti
The Bonze, Cio-Cio-san's uncle bass Paolo Wulman [fr] Giuseppe Tisci-Rubini
Yakusidé, Cio-Cio-san's uncle bass Antonio Volponi Fernando Gianoli Galletti
The Imperial Commissioner bass Aurelio Viale Luigi Bolpagni
The Official Registrar bass Ettore Gennari Anselmo Ferrari
Cio-Cio-san's mother mezzo Tina Alasia Serena Pattini
The aunt soprano ? Adele Bergamasco
The cousin soprano Palmira Maggi Carla Grementieri
Kate Pinkerton mezzo Margherita Manfredi Emma Decima
Dolore ("Trouble"), Cio-Cio-san's son silent Ersilia Ghissoni Ersilia Ghissoni
Cio-Cio-san's relatives and friends and servants

Synopsis edit

Act 1 edit

 
Set design by Bailly and Jambon for Act I in the 1906 production

In 1904, a U.S. naval officer named Pinkerton rents a house on a hill in Nagasaki, Japan, for himself and his soon-to-be wife, "Butterfly". Her real name is Cio-Cio-San (from the Japanese word for "butterfly" (蝶々, chōchō, pronounced [tɕoꜜːtɕoː]); -san is a plain honorific). She is a 15-year-old Japanese girl whom he is marrying for convenience, and he intends to leave her once he finds a proper American wife, since Japanese divorce laws are very lax. The wedding is to take place at the house. Butterfly had been so excited to marry an American that she had earlier secretly converted to Christianity. After the wedding ceremony, her uninvited uncle, a bonze, who has found out about her conversion, comes to the house, curses her and orders all the guests to leave, which they do while renouncing her. Pinkerton and Butterfly sing a love duet and prepare to spend their first night together.

Act 2 edit

Three years later, Butterfly is still waiting for Pinkerton to return, as he had left shortly after their wedding. Her maid Suzuki keeps trying to convince her that he is not coming back, but Butterfly will not listen to her. Goro, the marriage broker who arranged her marriage, keeps trying to marry her off again, but she does not listen to him either. The American consul, Sharpless, comes to the house with a letter which he has received from Pinkerton which asks him to break some news to Butterfly: that Pinkerton is coming back to Japan, but Sharpless cannot bring himself to finish it because Butterfly becomes very excited to hear that Pinkerton is coming back. Sharpless asks Butterfly what she would do if Pinkerton were not to return. She then reveals that she gave birth to Pinkerton's son after he had left and asks Sharpless to tell him.

 
Butterfly and her son 'Trouble' (Dolore) in 1917

From the hill house, Butterfly sees Pinkerton's ship arriving in the harbour. She and Suzuki prepare for his arrival, and then they wait. Suzuki and the child fall asleep, but Butterfly stays up all night waiting for him to arrive.

Act 3 edit

Suzuki wakes up in the morning and Butterfly finally falls asleep. Sharpless and Pinkerton arrive at the house, along with Pinkerton's new American wife, Kate. They have come because Kate has agreed to raise the child. But, as Pinkerton sees how Butterfly has decorated the house for his return, he realizes he has made a huge mistake. He admits that he is a coward and cannot face her, leaving Suzuki, Sharpless, and Kate to break the news to Butterfly. Agreeing to give up her child if Pinkerton comes himself to see her, she then prays to statues of her ancestral gods, says goodbye to her son, and blindfolds him. She places a small American flag in his hands and goes behind a screen, killing herself with her father's seppuku knife. Pinkerton rushes in, and Butterfly dies.

Musical Numbers edit

Act 1 edit

1. Orchestral prelude.
2. E soffitto e pareti ("And ceiling and walls").
3. Dovunque al mondo ("Throughout the world").
4. Amore o grillo ("Love or fancy").
5. Ancora un passo ("One step more").
6. Gran ventura ("May good fortune attend you").
7. L'Imperial Commissario ("The Imperial Commissioner").
8. Vieni, amor mio! ("Come, my love!").
9. Ieri son salita tutta sola ("Yesterday, I went all alone").
10. Tutti zitti ("Quiet everyone").
11. Madama Butterfly.
12. Cio-Cio-san!.
13. Bimba, Bimba, non piangere ("Sweetheart, sweetheart, do not weep").
13A. Viene la sera ("Night is falling").
14. Bimba dagli occhi ("Sweetheart, with eyes..."). (The long duet continues.)
15. Vogliatemi bene ("Love me, please.").

Act 2 edit

16. E Izaghi ed Izanami ("And Izanagi and Izanami").
17. Un bel dì, vedremo ("One fine day we shall see").
18. C'e. Entrate. ("She is there. Go in.").
19. Yamadori, ancor le pene ("Yamadori, are you not yet...").
20. Ora a noi. ("Now for us.").
21. Due cose potrei far ("Two things I could do").
22. Ah! M'ha scordata? ("Ah! He has forgotten me?").
23. Io scendo al piano. ("I will go now.")
24. Il cannone del porto! ("The cannon at the harbor!", often known as The Flower Duet).
25. Tutti i fior? ("All the flowers?").
26. Or vienmi ad adornar ("Now come to adorn me").
27. Coro a bocca chiusa ("Humming Chorus").

Act 3 edit

28. Oh eh! Oh eh! ("Heave-ho! Heave-ho!").
29. Già il sole! ("The Sun's come up!").
30. Io so che alle sue pene ("I know that her pain").
31. Addio, fiorito asil ("Farewell, flowery refuge").
32. Suzuki! Suzuki! ("Suzuki! Suzuki!").
33. Come una mosca ("Like a little fly").
34. Con onor muore ("To die with honor").
35. Tu? Tu? Piccolo iddio! ("You? You? My little god!").

Instrumentation edit

Madama Butterfly is scored for three flutes (the third doubling piccolo); two oboes, English horn; two clarinets in B-flat; bass clarinet in B-flat, two bassoons; four French horns in F; three trumpets in F; three tenor trombones; bass trombone; a percussion section with timpani, cymbals, triangle, snare drum, bass drum, bells, tam-tam, Japanese gong, and 4 "Japanese Bells"; keyboard glockenspiel; onstage "little bell"; onstage tubular bells; onstage viola d'amore; onstage bird whistles; onstage tam-tam; onstage bass tam-tam; harp; and strings.[20]

Reception edit

The premiere in Milan was a fiasco, as Puccini's sister, Ramelde, wrote in a letter to her husband:[21]

At two o'clock we went to bed and I can't sleep one bit; and to say that we were all so sure! Giacomo, poor thing, we never saw him because we couldn't go on the stage. We got to the end of it and I don't know how. The second act I didn't hear at all, and before the opera was over, we ran out of the theater.

Called "one of the most terrible flops in Italian opera history", the premiere was beset by several bad staging decisions, including the lack of an intermission during the second act. Worst of all was the idea to give audience plants nightingale whistles to deepen the sense of sunrise in the final scene. The audience took the noise as a cue to make their own animal noises.[22]

Madama Butterfly has been criticized by some American intellectuals[23] for orientalism. Despite these opinions, Madama Butterfly has been successfully performed in Japan in various adaptions from 1914,[24]

Today Madama Butterfly is the sixth most performed opera in the world[25] and considered a masterpiece, with Puccini's orchestration praised as limpid, fluent and refined.[26][27]

Recordings edit

Adaptations edit

 
Anna May Wong holding the child in the 1922 film The Toll of the Sea

References edit

  1. ^ Van Rij, Jan. Madame Butterfly: Japonisme, Puccini, and the Search for the Real Cho-Cho-San. Stone Bridge Press, Inc., 2001.
  2. ^ Lane Earns, "Madame Butterfly: The Search Continues", Opera Today 16 August 2007. Review of Van Rij's book on operatoday.com
  3. ^ Chadwick Jenna, "The Original Story: John Luther Long and David Belasco" 20 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine on columbia.edu
  4. ^ Groos, Arthur (1994). The Puccini Companion, Lieutenant F. B. Pinkerton: Problems in the Genesis and Performance of Madama Butterfly. New York: Norton. pp. 169–201. ISBN 978-0-393-02930-7.
  5. ^ Carner 1979, p. 21.
  6. ^ Richard S Bogart and Mark D Lew, (eds.) Version 1: Cast of characters and libretto (in Italian), 1904 G. Ricordi & C. and Boosey & Co. and Breyer Hermanos
  7. ^ Richard S Bogart and Mark D Lew, (eds.) Version 2 (Brescia, 1904): Cast of characters and libretto (in Italian), 1904 G. Ricordi & C. and Boosey & Co.
  8. ^ Richard S Bogart and Mark D Lew, (eds.), Version 3: (American, 1906). Cast of characters and libretto in Italian and English, 1906 Milano: G. Ricordi & C.
  9. ^ Richard S Bogart and Mark D Lew, (eds.), Version 4 (Paris, 1907): Cast of characters and libretto in Italian and English, with editors' notes, 1907 Milano: G. Ricordi & C.
  10. ^ Mark D Lew, Version 5: (The "Standard Version") 30 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine, 1907 G. Ricordi & C.: New York – Milan – Rome – Naples – Palermo – London – Paris – Leipsig – Buenos Ayres – S. Paulo. 266 pp
  11. ^ "Madama Butterfly: Libretto". opera.stanford.edu.
  12. ^ . www.teatroallascala.org. Archived from the original on 5 December 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  13. ^ "The Savage Innocents", Part 2, The Opera Quarterly, Vol. 19, no. 1
  14. ^ Carner 1979, pp. 79–80.
  15. ^ Radic, Thérèse (1979). "Castles, Amy Eliza (1880–1951)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 7. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  16. ^ Carner 1979, p. 32.
  17. ^ Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Madama Butterfly, 17 February 1904". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
  18. ^ Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Madama Butterfly, 28 May 1904". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
  19. ^ Hopkinson, Cecil. A Bibliography of the Works of Giacomo Puccini 1858-1924. Broude Brothers, 1968.
  20. ^ "Madama Butterfly". Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  21. ^ "Scala, le 11 cose da sapere sul 'Teatro dei milanesi'". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 7 December 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  22. ^ Arruga, Lorenzo. La Scala. Praeger Publishers, 1975. 153.
  23. ^ Hu, Katherine (19 December 2019). "Classical Opera Has a Racism Problem". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  24. ^ Groos, Arthur (July 1989). "Return of the native: Japan in Madama Butterfly/Madama Butterfly in Japan". Cambridge Opera Journal. 1 (2): 167–194. doi:10.1017/S0954586700002950. ISSN 1474-0621. S2CID 191590132.
  25. ^ "Madama Butterfly". The Opera 101. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  26. ^ "Giacomo Puccini". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  27. ^ "Studi pucciniani. Rassegna sulla musica e sul teatro musicale nell'epoca di Giacomo Puccini. Vol. 5: Dalla genesi delle opere alla ricezione nel film. – Centro studi Giacomo Puccini – Libro – Olschki – Centro studi Giacomo Puccini. Atti". IBS (in Italian). Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  28. ^ Madame Butterfly at IMDb  
  29. ^ "A cinema history". Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  30. ^ "Film Screenings (June 7, 2015)". Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  31. ^ The Takarazuka Concise Madame Butterfly tr. by K. and L. Selden, introduced by A. Groos in Japan Focus 14, 14, 7 (July 2016)
  32. ^ Madame Butterfly (1932) at IMDb  
  33. ^ Clements, Jonathan; Helen McCarthy (2006). "Madame Butterfly". The Anime Encyclopedia, Revised & Expanded Edition: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917 (2nd ed.). Berkeley, Cal.: Stone Bridge Press. pp. 387–388 (print). ISBN 978-1-933330-10-5. OCLC 71237342. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  34. ^ "お蝶夫人の幻想". allcinema. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  35. ^ "お蝶夫人の幻想". Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  36. ^ Madama Butterfly (1954) at IMDb  
  37. ^ Patase, Chutipong (29 November 2018). "สาวเครือฟ้าและมิสไซ่ง่อน ผลผลิตจากละครเวทีแม่แบบ…มาดามบัตเตอร์ฟลาย" [Sao Krua Fah and Miss Saigon product from the original stage play…Madame Butterfly]. Art & Culture (in Thai). Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  38. ^ Madama Butterfly at Discogs
  39. ^ Rich, Frank (21 March 1988). "Review/Theater; 'M. Butterfly,' a Story Of a Strange Love, Conflict and Betrayal". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  40. ^ Wadler, Joyce (2 July 2009). "Shi Pei Pu, Singer, Spy and 'M. Butterfly,' Dies at 70". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  41. ^ Madama Butterfly at IMDb  
  42. ^ . abt.org. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
  43. ^ Cohen, Ian (9 February 2015). "Rivers Cuomo". Pitchfork. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  44. ^ "Japanese Composer Writes Sequel to Madama Butterfly:Jr. Butterfly...no joke. > Opera News > The Met Opera Guild". Opera News. 1 April 2004. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  45. ^ "宮崎あおい主演で「蝶々夫人」をドラマ化...『蝶々さん』". NHK Drama. 19 October 2011.
  46. ^ Cameron Woodhead (4 October 2013). "Theatre review: Cho Cho". The Sydney Morning Herald.

Sources edit

Further reading edit

  • Burke-Gaffney, Brian, Starcrossed: A Biography of Madame Butterfly, EastBridge, 2004 ISBN 1-891936-48-4.
  • Groos, Arthur, "Madame Butterfly: The Story", Cambridge Opera Journal, vol. 3, no. 2 (July 1991)
  • Melitz, Leo, The Opera Goer's Complete Guide, 1921 version, source of the plot.
  • Mezzanotte, Riccardo (ed.), The Simon & Schuster Book of the Opera: A Complete Reference Guide – 1597 to the Present, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1977. ISBN 0-671-24886-3.
  • Osborne, Charles, The Complete Operas of Puccini, New York: Da Capo Press, 1983.
  • Weaver, William, Simonetta Puccini, (eds.), The Puccini Companion, New York: W. W. Norton, 1994. ISBN 0-393-32052-9.

External links edit

madama, butterfly, madame, butterfly, redirects, here, other, uses, madame, butterfly, disambiguation, italian, pronunciation, maˈdaːma, ˈbatterflai, madame, butterfly, opera, three, acts, originally, giacomo, puccini, with, italian, libretto, luigi, illica, g. Madame Butterfly redirects here For other uses see Madame Butterfly disambiguation Madama Butterfly Italian pronunciation maˈdaːma ˈbatterflai Madame Butterfly is an opera in three acts originally two by Giacomo Puccini with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa Madama ButterflyOpera by Giacomo PucciniOriginal 1904 poster by Adolfo HohensteinLibrettistLuigi Illica Giuseppe GiacosaLanguageItalianBased onDavid Belasco Madame Butterfly A Tragedy of Japan John Luther Long Madame Butterfly Premiere17 February 1904 1904 02 17 La Scala MilanIt 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 Chrysantheme by Pierre Loti 1 2 3 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 4 The original version of the opera in two acts had its premiere on 17 February 1904 at La Scala in Milan It was poorly received despite having such notable singers as soprano Rosina Storchio tenor Giovanni Zenatello and baritone Giuseppe De Luca in lead roles This was due in part to a late completion by Puccini which gave inadequate time for rehearsals Puccini revised the opera splitting the second act in two with the Humming Chorus as a bridge to what became Act III and making other changes Success ensued starting with the first performance on 28 May 1904 in Brescia 5 Contents 1 Versions 2 Performance history 3 Roles 4 Synopsis 4 1 Act 1 4 2 Act 2 4 3 Act 3 5 Musical Numbers 5 1 Act 1 5 2 Act 2 5 3 Act 3 6 Instrumentation 7 Reception 8 Recordings 9 Adaptations 10 References 10 1 Sources 11 Further reading 12 External linksVersions edit nbsp Solomiya Krushelnytska as Butterfly c 1904Puccini wrote five versions of the opera The original two act version 6 which was presented at the world premiere at La Scala on 17 February 1904 was withdrawn after the disastrous premiere Puccini then substantially rewrote it this time in three acts This second version 7 was performed on 28 May 1904 in Brescia where it was a great success with Solomiya Krushelnytska as Cio Cio san It was this second version that premiered in the United States in 1906 first in Washington D C in October and then in New York in November performed by Henry Savage s New English Opera Company so named because it performed in English language translations citation needed In 1906 Puccini wrote a third version 8 which was performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on 11 February 1907 Later that year Puccini made several changes in the orchestral and vocal scores and this became the fourth version 9 Again in 1907 Puccini made his final revisions to the opera in a fifth version 10 11 which has become known as the Standard Version and is the one which is most often performed today However the original 1904 version is occasionally performed such as for the opening of La Scala s 2016 17 season on 7 December 2016 with Riccardo Chailly conducting 12 Performance history editPremieres of versions of Madama Butterfly in major opera houses throughout the world include the Teatro de la Opera de Buenos Aires on 2 July 1904 under Arturo Toscanini this being the first performance in the world outside Italy Its first performance in Britain was in London on 10 July 1905 at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden while the first US performance was presented in English on 15 October 1906 in Washington D C at the Columbia Theater The first performance in New York took place on 12 November of the same year at the Garden Theatre 13 The Metropolitan Opera first performed the opera on 11 February 1907 under the supervision of the composer with Geraldine Farrar as Cio Cio San Enrico Caruso as Pinkerton Louise Homer as Suzuki Antonio Scotti as Sharpless with Arturo Vigna conducting 14 Madama Butterfly has since been heard virtually every season at the Met except for a hiatus during World War II from 1942 through 1945 due to the hostilities between the United States and Japan The first Australian performance was presented at the Theatre Royal in Sydney on 26 March 1910 starring Amy Eliza Castles 15 Between 1915 and 1920 Japan s best known opera singer Tamaki Miura won international fame for her performances as Cio Cio San A memorial to this singer along with one to Puccini can be found in the Glover Garden in the port city of Nagasaki where the opera is set 16 Roles editRoles voice types premiere cast Role Voice type Premiere cast 17 February 1904Conductor Cleofonte Campanini 17 Brescia cast 28 May 1904Conductor Cleofonte Campanini 18 Cio Cio San Madama Butterfly soprano Rosina Storchio Solomiya KrushelnytskaSuzuki her maid mezzo Giuseppina Giaconia Giovanna Lucaszewska fr B F Pinkerton Lt in the U S Navy 19 73 4 tenor Giovanni Zenatello Giovanni ZenatelloSharpless U S consul at Nagasaki baritone Giuseppe De Luca Virgilio Bellatti fr Goro a matchmaker tenor Gaetano Pini Corsi fr Gaetano Pini CorsiPrince Yamadori baritone Emilio Venturini Fernando Gianoli GallettiThe Bonze Cio Cio san s uncle bass Paolo Wulman fr Giuseppe Tisci RubiniYakuside Cio Cio san s uncle bass Antonio Volponi Fernando Gianoli GallettiThe Imperial Commissioner bass Aurelio Viale Luigi BolpagniThe Official Registrar bass Ettore Gennari Anselmo FerrariCio Cio san s mother mezzo Tina Alasia Serena PattiniThe aunt soprano Adele BergamascoThe cousin soprano Palmira Maggi Carla GrementieriKate Pinkerton mezzo Margherita Manfredi Emma DecimaDolore Trouble Cio Cio san s son silent Ersilia Ghissoni Ersilia GhissoniCio Cio san s relatives and friends and servantsSynopsis editAct 1 edit nbsp Set design by Bailly and Jambon for Act I in the 1906 productionIn 1904 a U S naval officer named Pinkerton rents a house on a hill in Nagasaki Japan for himself and his soon to be wife Butterfly Her real name is Cio Cio San from the Japanese word for butterfly 蝶々 chōchō pronounced tɕoꜜːtɕoː san is a plain honorific She is a 15 year old Japanese girl whom he is marrying for convenience and he intends to leave her once he finds a proper American wife since Japanese divorce laws are very lax The wedding is to take place at the house Butterfly had been so excited to marry an American that she had earlier secretly converted to Christianity After the wedding ceremony her uninvited uncle a bonze who has found out about her conversion comes to the house curses her and orders all the guests to leave which they do while renouncing her Pinkerton and Butterfly sing a love duet and prepare to spend their first night together Act 2 edit Three years later Butterfly is still waiting for Pinkerton to return as he had left shortly after their wedding Her maid Suzuki keeps trying to convince her that he is not coming back but Butterfly will not listen to her Goro the marriage broker who arranged her marriage keeps trying to marry her off again but she does not listen to him either The American consul Sharpless comes to the house with a letter which he has received from Pinkerton which asks him to break some news to Butterfly that Pinkerton is coming back to Japan but Sharpless cannot bring himself to finish it because Butterfly becomes very excited to hear that Pinkerton is coming back Sharpless asks Butterfly what she would do if Pinkerton were not to return She then reveals that she gave birth to Pinkerton s son after he had left and asks Sharpless to tell him nbsp Butterfly and her son Trouble Dolore in 1917From the hill house Butterfly sees Pinkerton s ship arriving in the harbour She and Suzuki prepare for his arrival and then they wait Suzuki and the child fall asleep but Butterfly stays up all night waiting for him to arrive Act 3 edit Suzuki wakes up in the morning and Butterfly finally falls asleep Sharpless and Pinkerton arrive at the house along with Pinkerton s new American wife Kate They have come because Kate has agreed to raise the child But as Pinkerton sees how Butterfly has decorated the house for his return he realizes he has made a huge mistake He admits that he is a coward and cannot face her leaving Suzuki Sharpless and Kate to break the news to Butterfly Agreeing to give up her child if Pinkerton comes himself to see her she then prays to statues of her ancestral gods says goodbye to her son and blindfolds him She places a small American flag in his hands and goes behind a screen killing herself with her father s seppuku knife Pinkerton rushes in and Butterfly dies Musical Numbers editMusic from Madama Butterfly Un bel di One fine day source source Recorded in 1919 performed by Rosa Ponselle with orchestra 4 38 No 2 E son molti i parenti 4 04 source source No 3 Ed e bella la sposa 3 27 source source No 4 Eco Son giunte Ancora un passo 4 01 source source No 5 Nessuno si confessa 3 51 source source No 6 Vieni amor mio 3 49 source source No 7 Tutti ziti 3 23 source source No 8 Cio Cio San Cio Cio San 3 59 source source No 9 Viene la sera 4 05 source source No 10 Stolta paura 3 59 source source No 11 Io t ho ghermita 3 42 source source No 12 E Izaghi ed Izanami 3 32 source source No 13 Perche con tante cure 3 00 source source No 14 Un bel di vedremo 3 41 source source No 15 C e entrate 3 47 source source No 16 Jamadori ancor le pene 3 59 source source No 17 Ora a noi sedete qui 4 22 source source No 18 E questo E questo 4 06 source source No 19 Io scendo al piano 3 20 source source No 20 Una nave da Guerra 3 58 source source No 21 Spoglio e l orto 4 03 source source No 22 Nello shosi or farem 4 01 source source No 23 Intermezzo 4 11 source source No 24 Oh eh Oh eh 4 22 source source No 25 Chi sia 4 15 source source No 26 Si tutto in un istante 4 22 source source No 27 Tu Suzuki 4 13 source source No 28 Il bimbo ove sia 4 25 source source Performed in 1929 by La Scala Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Lorenzo Molajoli Act 1 edit 1 Orchestral prelude 2 E soffitto e pareti And ceiling and walls 3 Dovunque al mondo Throughout the world 4 Amore o grillo Love or fancy 5 Ancora un passo One step more 6 Gran ventura May good fortune attend you 7 L Imperial Commissario The Imperial Commissioner 8 Vieni amor mio Come my love 9 Ieri son salita tutta sola Yesterday I went all alone 10 Tutti zitti Quiet everyone 11 Madama Butterfly 12 Cio Cio san 13 Bimba Bimba non piangere Sweetheart sweetheart do not weep 13A Viene la sera Night is falling 14 Bimba dagli occhi Sweetheart with eyes The long duet continues 15 Vogliatemi bene Love me please Act 2 edit 16 E Izaghi ed Izanami And Izanagi and Izanami 17 Un bel di vedremo One fine day we shall see 18 C e Entrate She is there Go in 19 Yamadori ancor le pene Yamadori are you not yet 20 Ora a noi Now for us 21 Due cose potrei far Two things I could do 22 Ah M ha scordata Ah He has forgotten me 23 Io scendo al piano I will go now 24 Il cannone del porto The cannon at the harbor often known as The Flower Duet 25 Tutti i fior All the flowers 26 Or vienmi ad adornar Now come to adorn me 27 Coro a bocca chiusa Humming Chorus Act 3 edit 28 Oh eh Oh eh Heave ho Heave ho 29 Gia il sole The Sun s come up 30 Io so che alle sue pene I know that her pain 31 Addio fiorito asil Farewell flowery refuge 32 Suzuki Suzuki Suzuki Suzuki 33 Come una mosca Like a little fly 34 Con onor muore To die with honor 35 Tu Tu Piccolo iddio You You My little god Instrumentation editMadama Butterfly is scored for three flutes the third doubling piccolo two oboes English horn two clarinets in B flat bass clarinet in B flat two bassoons four French horns in F three trumpets in F three tenor trombones bass trombone a percussion section with timpani cymbals triangle snare drum bass drum bells tam tam Japanese gong and 4 Japanese Bells keyboard glockenspiel onstage little bell onstage tubular bells onstage viola d amore onstage bird whistles onstage tam tam onstage bass tam tam harp and strings 20 Reception editThe premiere in Milan was a fiasco as Puccini s sister Ramelde wrote in a letter to her husband 21 At two o clock we went to bed and I can t sleep one bit and to say that we were all so sure Giacomo poor thing we never saw him because we couldn t go on the stage We got to the end of it and I don t know how The second act I didn t hear at all and before the opera was over we ran out of the theater Called one of the most terrible flops in Italian opera history the premiere was beset by several bad staging decisions including the lack of an intermission during the second act Worst of all was the idea to give audience plants nightingale whistles to deepen the sense of sunrise in the final scene The audience took the noise as a cue to make their own animal noises 22 Madama Butterfly has been criticized by some American intellectuals 23 for orientalism Despite these opinions Madama Butterfly has been successfully performed in Japan in various adaptions from 1914 24 Today Madama Butterfly is the sixth most performed opera in the world 25 and considered a masterpiece with Puccini s orchestration praised as limpid fluent and refined 26 27 Recordings editMain article Madama Butterfly discographyAdaptations edit nbsp Anna May Wong holding the child in the 1922 film The Toll of the Sea1915 A silent film version was directed by Sidney Olcott and starred Mary Pickford 28 1919 A silent tinted film version titled Harakiri directed by Fritz Lang and starring Paul Biensfeldt Lil Dagover Georg John and Niels Prien 29 1922 A silent color film The Toll of the Sea based on the opera play was released This movie which starred Anna May Wong in her first leading role moved the storyline to China It was the second two color Technicolor motion picture ever released and the first film made using Technicolor Process 2 30 1931 Concise Chōchō san by the Takarazuka Revue 31 1932 Madame Butterfly a non singing drama with ample portions of Puccini s score in the musical underscoring made by Paramount starring Sylvia Sidney and Cary Grant in black amp white 32 1940 Ochō Fujin no Gensō お蝶夫人の幻想 Madame Butterfly s Illusion a 12 minute Japanese silhouette animation film 33 34 35 1954 Madame Butterfly a screen adaptation of the opera directed by Carmine Gallone jointly produced by Italy s Cineriz and Japan s Toho The film was shot in Technicolor at Cinecitta in Rome Italy Starring Japanese actress Kaoru Yachigusa as Cio Cio San and Italian tenor Nicola Filacuridi as Pinkerton and with Japanese actors and Italian actors dubbed by Italian opera singers 36 1965 Sao Krua Fah a 16 mm Thai film starred by Mitr Chaibancha and Pisamai Wilaisak 37 1974 Madama Butterfly a German television adaptation of the opera starring Mirella Freni and Placido Domingo directed by Jean Pierre Ponnelle 38 1988 The play M Butterfly by David Henry Hwang is partially based on Madama Butterfly as well as the story of French diplomat Bernard Boursicot and the Beijing opera singer Shi Pei Pu 39 40 1995 Frederic Mitterrand directed a film version of the opera Madame Butterfly in Tunisia North Africa starring Richard Troxell and Chinese singer Ying Huang in the lead roles 41 1995 Australian choreographer Stanton Welch created a ballet inspired by the opera for The Australian Ballet 42 1996 The album Pinkerton by the rock band Weezer was based loosely on the opera 43 2004 On the 100th anniversary of Madama Butterfly Shigeaki Saegusa composed Jr Butterfly to a libretto by Masahiko Shimada 44 2011 Cho cho san Japanese novel and TV drama series based on the novel written by Shinichi Ichikawa Based on the original opera the story depicts the sorrowful love and turbulent life of a samurai s daughter who loses her parents at a young age and becomes the apprentice of a geisha set in the early Meiji era in Nagasaki Japan Starring Japanese actress Aoi Miyazaki as Cho Ito Cho cho san 45 2013 Cho Cho musical drama by Daniel Keene music by Cheng Jin set in 1930s Shanghai 46 References edit Van Rij Jan Madame Butterfly Japonisme Puccini and the Search for the Real Cho Cho San Stone Bridge Press Inc 2001 Lane Earns Madame Butterfly The Search Continues Opera Today 16 August 2007 Review of Van Rij s book on operatoday com Chadwick Jenna The Original Story John Luther Long and David Belasco Archived 20 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine on columbia edu Groos Arthur 1994 The Puccini Companion Lieutenant F B Pinkerton Problems in the Genesis and Performance ofMadama Butterfly New York Norton pp 169 201 ISBN 978 0 393 02930 7 Carner 1979 p 21 Richard S Bogart and Mark D Lew eds Version 1 Cast of characters and libretto in Italian 1904 G Ricordi amp C and Boosey amp Co and Breyer Hermanos Richard S Bogart and Mark D Lew eds Version 2 Brescia 1904 Cast of characters and libretto in Italian 1904 G Ricordi amp C and Boosey amp Co Richard S Bogart and Mark D Lew eds Version 3 American 1906 Cast of characters and libretto in Italian and English 1906 Milano G Ricordi amp C Richard S Bogart and Mark D Lew eds Version 4 Paris 1907 Cast of characters and libretto in Italian and English with editors notes 1907 Milano G Ricordi amp C Mark D Lew Version 5 The Standard Version Archived 30 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine 1907 G Ricordi amp C New York Milan Rome Naples Palermo London Paris Leipsig Buenos Ayres S Paulo 266 pp Madama Butterfly Libretto opera stanford edu Madama Butterfly Teatro alla Scala www teatroallascala org Archived from the original on 5 December 2016 Retrieved 14 December 2016 The Savage Innocents Part 2 The Opera Quarterly Vol 19 no 1 Carner 1979 pp 79 80 Radic Therese 1979 Castles Amy Eliza 1880 1951 Australian Dictionary of Biography Vol 7 National Centre of Biography Australian National University ISSN 1833 7538 Retrieved 2 January 2015 Carner 1979 p 32 Casaglia Gherardo 2005 Madama Butterfly 17 February 1904 L Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia in Italian Casaglia Gherardo 2005 Madama Butterfly 28 May 1904 L Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia in Italian Hopkinson Cecil A Bibliography of the Works of Giacomo Puccini 1858 1924 Broude Brothers 1968 Madama Butterfly Retrieved 27 February 2021 Scala le 11 cose da sapere sul Teatro dei milanesi Corriere della Sera in Italian 7 December 2015 Retrieved 14 January 2022 Arruga Lorenzo La Scala Praeger Publishers 1975 153 Hu Katherine 19 December 2019 Classical Opera Has a Racism Problem The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 15 December 2021 Groos Arthur July 1989 Return of the native Japan in Madama Butterfly Madama Butterfly in Japan Cambridge Opera Journal 1 2 167 194 doi 10 1017 S0954586700002950 ISSN 1474 0621 S2CID 191590132 Madama Butterfly The Opera 101 Retrieved 14 January 2022 Giacomo Puccini Encyclopaedia Britannica Retrieved 14 January 2022 Studi pucciniani Rassegna sulla musica e sul teatro musicale nell epoca di Giacomo Puccini Vol 5 Dalla genesi delle opere alla ricezione nel film Centro studi Giacomo Puccini Libro Olschki Centro studi Giacomo Puccini Atti IBS in Italian Retrieved 14 January 2022 Madame Butterfly at IMDb nbsp A cinema history Retrieved 13 August 2014 Film Screenings June 7 2015 Museum of Modern Art Retrieved 6 July 2015 The Takarazuka Concise Madame Butterfly tr by K and L Selden introduced by A Groos in Japan Focus 14 14 7 July 2016 Madame Butterfly 1932 at IMDb nbsp Clements Jonathan Helen McCarthy 2006 Madame Butterfly The Anime Encyclopedia Revised amp Expanded Edition A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917 2nd ed Berkeley Cal Stone Bridge Press pp 387 388 print ISBN 978 1 933330 10 5 OCLC 71237342 Retrieved 17 July 2014 お蝶夫人の幻想 allcinema Retrieved 18 July 2014 お蝶夫人の幻想 Japanese Movie Database Retrieved 18 July 2014 Madama Butterfly 1954 at IMDb nbsp Patase Chutipong 29 November 2018 sawekhruxfaaelamisisngxn phlphlitcaklakhrewthiaemaebb madambtetxrflay Sao Krua Fah and Miss Saigon product from the original stage play Madame Butterfly Art amp Culture in Thai Retrieved 23 August 2021 Madama Butterfly at Discogs Rich Frank 21 March 1988 Review Theater M Butterfly a Story Of a Strange Love Conflict and Betrayal The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 20 January 2023 Wadler Joyce 2 July 2009 Shi Pei Pu Singer Spy and M Butterfly Dies at 70 The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 20 January 2023 Madama Butterfly at IMDb nbsp Stanton Welch Credits and biography abt org Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 5 September 2009 Cohen Ian 9 February 2015 Rivers Cuomo Pitchfork Retrieved 15 February 2015 Japanese Composer Writes Sequel to Madama Butterfly Jr Butterfly no joke gt Opera News gt The Met Opera Guild Opera News 1 April 2004 Retrieved 15 February 2018 宮崎あおい主演で 蝶々夫人 をドラマ化 蝶々さん NHK Drama 19 October 2011 Cameron Woodhead 4 October 2013 Theatre review Cho Cho The Sydney Morning Herald Sources edit Carner Mosco 1979 Madam Butterfly A Guide to the Opera Masterworks of Opera Foreword by Victoria de los Angeles London Barrie amp Jenkins ISBN 0 214 20680 7 Further reading editBurke Gaffney Brian Starcrossed A Biography of Madame Butterfly EastBridge 2004 ISBN 1 891936 48 4 Groos Arthur Madame Butterfly The Story Cambridge Opera Journal vol 3 no 2 July 1991 Melitz Leo The Opera Goer s Complete Guide 1921 version source of the plot Mezzanotte Riccardo ed The Simon amp Schuster Book of the Opera A Complete Reference Guide 1597 to the Present New York Simon and Schuster 1977 ISBN 0 671 24886 3 Osborne Charles The Complete Operas of Puccini New York Da Capo Press 1983 Weaver William Simonetta Puccini eds The Puccini Companion New York W W Norton 1994 ISBN 0 393 32052 9 External links edit nbsp Opera portal nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Madama Butterfly Puccini nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article Madama Butterfly Madama Butterfly Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Libretto at Google Books New York City Opera Project Madama Butterfly Columbia University Madame Butterfly Turns 100 A Century Ago Puccini s Tragic Heroine First Took the Stage NPR Libretto Stanford University John Luther Long Madame Butterfly the original book Video on YouTube Renata Tebaldi sings Un bel di vedremo Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Madama Butterfly amp oldid 1207747448, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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