Daniel Dvorin - Madama Butterfly Reivew

§ December 15th, 2008 § Filed under Assignments, Capsule Reviews, Puccini's Madama Butterfly

“Calling A Caterpillar A Butterfly”

With an aerial view from the family circle, the sets of Madama Butterfly still managed to enthrall an optimist, such as myself, while the music and voices struggled to sound their best at the elevated altitude of the fifth floor balcony.
Anthony Minghella’s production offered wonderful cinematic aspects, such as the sliding Shoji screen doors, the walls formed from flower petals, and the horizontal strip of monochromatic light, which served as an ambient tone setter. It was bright yellow, as the sun, during jovial parts, and transitioned into a blood red during scenes of great despair.
The production’s use of striking colors, especially in the stylish costumes by the Chinese fashion designer Han Feng, and sets added to the experience of a beautifully sung opera. The raked stage and mirrored ceiling in the back of the stage created a necessary  visual drama for the singers’ entrances. The cavernous Met stage had more than enough space for the  sets design and the blocking of the singers.
While it was a very interesting and captivating production to watch, the voice of the substitute tenor – Marcello Giordani – was exhausted after performing the night before. He came out onto stage this Tuesday worn-out from his previous performance. The soprano, Maria Gavriola, substituting for Patricia Racette, had a high, strong voice that brought words together into a fortissimo, but sounded like a mumble once extremely high notes were reached.
The well-known tragic finale of the opera could not be portrayed more beautifully or lucidly than it was at the Metropolitan Opera. The red velvet extending from Cio Cio San’s kimono and the vivid red lighting contributed to a powerful, dramatic ending. Many have taken issue with the use of the puppet in the final act, but I found it ingenious and striking, although I found the puppet portraying Cio Cio San in the dream distracting and overkill.
The brilliant use of “Met titles,” not only translates the opera from Italian to English, German, or Spanish, but also visually displays what is being said. Although it is not necessary to read or fully understand what the performers sing – word for word – because of the strong emotion in their voices, it is still a fantastic option to help you understand what is going on. Personally, I turned off the subtitles and just listened to the performers understanding everything. As the Met’s longtime conductor James Levine once said, surtitles are far from necessary in the opera house (he once said they would be installed “over [his] dead body.”)
Madama Butterfly runs through March 7at the Met Opera in Lincoln Center, NYC between 63rd and 66th Street on Broadway.