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UID:69dc42ffb357c
DTSTART:20260223T193000
SEQUENCE:0
TRANSP:OPAQUE
DTEND:20260223T213000
LOCATION:Deutsche Oper Berlin\, Berlin
SUMMARY:Madame Butterfly
CLASS:PUBLIC
DESCRIPTION:With this opera\, Puccini created what is arguably his most pow
 erful stage work. Tragic is not only the illusion of great love to which 1
 5-year-old Cio-Cio San succumbs\, but also her fundamental sense of loneli
 ness: rejected by the Japanese because she wants to be American\, she is n
 ot accepted by the Americans as one of their own... Conductor: Stephan Zil
 ias / Friedrich Praetorius\; Director: Pier Luigi Samaritani\; With Carmen
  Giannattasio / Asmik Grigorian / Elena Stikhina\, Attilio Glaser / Dmytro
  Popov / Andrei Danilov\, Thomas Lehman / Joel Allison / Germán Olvera an
 d others.\nAbout the workLieutenant Pinkerton is attached to an American s
 hip currently moored in Nagasaki harbour. He has been courting a 15-year-o
 ld geisha girl named Cio-Cio-san\, known as Butterfly\, who is from a poor
  but genteel family and takes love very seriously. Pinkerton wants to ente
 r into a “time-limited marriage” – not uncommon between European men
  and geishas at the time – and is even being helped by Goro\, the marria
 ge agent\, to find a cottage in which they can spend their honeymoon. The 
 US consul\, Sharpless\, warns him against such a step\, but Pinkerton brus
 hes him off and even toasts the day when he will take an American to be hi
 s “real” wife.\n\nThe repercussions of this foreign liaison for the Ja
 panese girl\, who has even converted to the creed of her lover\, turn out 
 to be grave: she is shunned by her family after the wedding and Pinkerton 
 is hard put to console his “butterfly”. Three years go by. Cio-Cio is 
 living in seclusion with her young child and her faithful servant Suzuki. 
 She declines all marriage proposals from Prince Yamadori as she is persist
 ent in her belief that Pinkerton will return. When Sharpless arrives with 
 a note from Pinkerton asking him to inform her that he is now married to a
 n American woman and will shortly be arriving in Nagasaki\, Sharpless is h
 orrified to see that the affair has produced a child and cannot bring hims
 elf to mention Kate\, the new wife. Cio-Cio\, overjoyed\, decorates her ho
 me\, dons her bridal dress and awaits her beloved husband. When Pinkerton 
 visits with Kate and the consul\, Suzuki is given the full facts: she is t
 o persuade Butterfly to surrender her child. Pinkerton can’t bear to fac
 e Cio-Cio and ducks out of a face-to-face encounter. Butterfly catches sig
 ht of the other woman and realises that Pinkerton has come not to stay but
  to take the child. She asks for half an hour in which to bid farewell to 
 her son. Then she kills herself.\n\n“There are elements of theatre that 
 don’t necessarily overlap. It is meant to interest us\, surprise us\, to
 uch us. What has my life got to do with heroes and immortal characters? I 
 am uneasy around those kinds of people. As a musician I don’t deal in la
 rge scale and grand issues\; it’s the little things that make an impress
 ion on me and which I like to explore. I liked Manon\, for instance\, beca
 use she had a big heart and no artifice beyond that … And that’s what 
 drew me to Butterfly\, because she’s such a transparent\, feminine creat
 ure yet capable of loving unto death.” Puccini referred to MADAMA BUTTER
 FLY as his favourite and best work\, and indeed it is perfectly in line wi
 th his “music of small things” motto. Filigree musical details\, delig
 htful melodies for singers\, subtly incorporated exotica and sensitive ble
 nding of tonal colours in the orchestra have not only made the work an eve
 rgreen but also – as with Puccini’s other operas – given subsequent 
 composers something to aspire to.\n\nAbout the productionAt the core of th
 e production at the Deutsche Oper Berlin is the tragedy of the young woman
  who stays true to her love\, despite the misgivings of all those around h
 er. The moody set design\, eschewing any folkloric tendency\, lends itself
  to the charm of the piece.
DTSTAMP:20260413T011231Z
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