The Passion of Opera

Puccini's  Madama Butterfly  or  Madame Butterfly  is, unquestionably, one of opera's most beloved tales. In many ways it seems fairly straightforward to produce. The snags come, however, in the way the emotional content must be communicated. The first act culminating in " Vogliatemi, bene ," and the opening " Un bel dí vedremo " of the second act must create enough passionate, romantic tension to hold through the entirety of the second act (with the important exception, perhaps, of the revelation of her son) and most of the third act to the point of Pinkerton's return and ultimate betrayal. Most of the actual time of the opera is spent waiting, and unless the anticipation sets up an electric feeling of suspense, that waiting can be very boring. This review will run in somewhat reverse order - focusing on major characters, then comprimarios, and finally on the production itself. General information & synopsis:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M...

Just wanted to throw out there quickly that I've been a bit slow in getting through the mass of blogging I have to do between this and  To Float on a Wayward Wind  while also trying to do stuff and travel while in London in addition to classes and work. It's a bit crazy. Still, I have been to Strauss' Elektra at the Royal Opera House and to English National Opera's production of Beethoven's Fidelio . Both had their highs and lows and reviews will be coming out shortly. I may shortly be at ENO's Madama Butterfly  and would love to see ROH's Les vêpres siciliennes , though scheduling this has been difficult. Meanwhile, The Passion of Opera has broken 30,000 lifetime views and keeps going strong. Thank you for your support and I'll have new reviews up shortly!!

At the end of my studying abroad in Vienna papers and exams overtook me, making it impossible to keep pace with reviewing operatic performances even as I continued to attend them. Since returning from Vienna, school, work, and other events have interfered in my completing reviews of 12 performances I had the opportunity to see as my time in Vienna came to a close. This lack of closure, however, has had a domino effect, leading me to feel like I couldn't review other performances, DVDs, write on various topics, etc. thereafter until I finished things up. At this point, now that I finally have the opportunity and have mustered the willpower, I've decided the best way to get this done is to seek middle ground. Writing a post each for the twelve performances in as much depth as my previous posts would require far too much time and effort. Additionally, it is impossible for anyone to see these performances with the same production and performers and I don't remember the details ...

Puccini's Madama Butterfly  or Madame Butterfly  is, unquestionably, one of opera's most beloved tales. In many ways it seems fairly straightforward to produce. The snags come, however, in the way the emotional content must be communicated. The first act culminating in " Vogliatemi, bene ," and the opening " Un bel dí vedremo " of the second act must create enough passionate, romantic tension to hold through the entirety of the second act (with the important exception, perhaps, of the revelation of her son) and most of the third act to the point of Pinkerton's return and ultimate betrayal. Most of the actual time of the opera is spent waiting, and unless the anticipation sets up an electric feeling of suspense, that waiting can be very boring. This production by the Staatsoper was billed as being in two acts. I am not an expert on the various revisions Puccini did to Madame Butterfly  and I cannot say whether it was simply billed this way becaus...

Just days after having the wonderful opportunity to see Ben Heppner in recital in Stratford I was offered a free ticket to attend an encore screening of the Met's 2009-2010 production of Madama Butterly . Though the production was certainly not flawless, I was quite impressed by what I saw. Anthony Minghella crafted the beautiful production (more on that later) Puccini’s opera. I will start with my general impressions, and then review some roles/places specifically. The roles: Cio-Cio-San (Butterfly) - Patricia Racette B. F. Pinkerton - Marcello Giordani Maria Zifchak - Suzuki Dwayne Croft - Sharpless The big theme that I found while viewing this production was the "slow getting started" feel. I will make the caveat upfront that part of this could well be attributed to the writing of Puccini, Luigi Illica, or Giuseppe Giacosa (the two librettists). Though of course all opera lovers are familiar with Madama Butterfly , I will confess that I have not seen ...