Madame Butterfly

§ December 15th, 2008 § Filed under Madama Butterfly Discussion, Puccini's Madama Butterfly

You might want to bring a pair of sunglasses to this one.  The Metropolitan Opera’s version of Giacomo Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” was definitely an experience to remember.
The two leads, Patricia Racette and Roberto Aronica seemed to have been ill for the performance, so my perception of Anthony Minghella’s true production was slightly hindered. Though I must admit that that their replacements, Maria Gavrilova and Marcello Giordani definitely delivered a spectacular show.
Gavrilova, though not the perfect match to my perception of Cio-Cio-San, did exceptionally well in carrying her voice throughout the Metropolitan Opera, and probably even into the street outside; its safe to say that her voice had an extreme impact on her part, as well as the audience, and it was definitely something to remember.
I must say that the use of puppets in this piece was genius, and in some points even beautiful.  The coordination and professionalism exhibited by the puppeteers astounded even me, even though I wasn’t exactly up close to the actors.  I must admit that I was a bit put off by the puppet of Cio-Cio-San’s son.  I felt that an actual child actor would have contributed to the piece better than the puppet did.
The most memorable part of the show was indefinitely its finale.  Cio-Cio-San definitely gave the phrase “lady in red” a new meaning.  I must say that the lighting effects and the portrayal of Cio-Cio-San’s death were simply magnificent.  I’ll admit that the lighting became a bit overwhelming, but I feel that it was a beautiful way of staging her death.  I also rather enjoyed Pinkerton’s reaction to Cio-Cio-San’s death.  He didn’t exactly run to her to express any pain or anguish.  My perception of the ending of the piece correlated with the actual opera’s portrayal perfectly.

-Varun Sahadevan