Madama Butterfly is a very nice opera and this production is very beautifull.Patricia Racette is good as Cio Cio san,a naive and sweet Japanese girl.Marcello Giordani is a bit too romantic as Pinkerton(this isn't Cavaradossi or Rodolfo),but he does a good job.Dwyne Croft and Maria Zifchak are great as Sharpless and Suzuki.The final scene is devastating as it should be.Very good performance of Madama Butterfly.8/10
The Metropolitan Opera HD Live (TV Series)
Puccini: Madama Butterfly (2009)
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Love the opera, very much liked the performance
TheLittleSongbird13 December 2011
Madama Butterfly doesn't have the most plausible story in the history of opera, however it does have some really touching moments. The characters are memorable, if very difficult to cast, and the music is magnificent throughout, as great as Un Bel Di Vedremo and Humming Chorus are, the act 1 duet and the final scene are the highlights of the opera for me.
When it comes to productions of Madama Butterfly, I loved the Raina Kabaivanska, Anna Moffo and Catherine Malfitano productions, and liked the Ponelle film with Freni and Domingo, but I have to give it to the 1986 production for the authenticity of the sets and one of the best Sharpless's I've heard or seen.
This Madama Butterfly though is very good. First of all I feel I must credit the costumes and sets. They are simply gorgeous and very authentic, particularly at the start of act 1. As usual the high definition looks fantastic and the videography and sound are very good.
I do agree however that act 3 is too dark, excepting the final scene which was heart-rending, making it rather dull emotionally. I have also noted the controversy regarding the puppet playing Cio-Cio San's son, my feelings were mixed on it actually, the puppet did look great and reacted very well to Racette and she to him, but I did question whether he fitted within the setting and as moving as the final scene was I did wonder whether it would have been even better with a real boy on stage.
From a musical point of view, the production excels. The orchestra play lyrically with attention to musicality, and Patrick Summers' conducting is solid, very sensitive and careful, even if some scenes could have done with more lushness. The chorus perform the humming chorus beautifully, and Minghella's staging apart from one controversial feature is imaginatively done.
Although there are a few weak points, the cast are generally good. Patricia Racette was very effective in the title role. I can understand why some mayn't like her voice, some of her high notes especially in Un Bel Di Vedremo are rather thin and she has a tendency to attack notes and finish flat. However, there is a lot of musicianship and intelligence in her singing. Dramatically, is she the right age for the role. No she isn't, then again none of the Butterflys I've heard or seen(my personal favourites being Freni and Scotto) are. However, a lot of effort is done into making her youthful and authentic and she is outstanding in the final scene.
Marcello Giordani has been an uneven singer for me. There have been times where he is great, such as in the role of Des Grieux, but others where the singing is generally good but the acting isn't quite there, in this case I always felt his Calaf could've been more heroic. This said, I do think he is excellent as Pinkerton, with his top notes ringing and his chemistry with Racette very convincing, their act 1 duet is one of the beautifully sung and erotically charged performances I have heard or seen of this particular duet. His acting is mostly good with such a fascinating and realistic approach, though I do think Pinkerton is a little too romantic, not quite dark in character enough and sounded tragic a little too soon which makes his self-pity less powerful in my view.
Maria Zifchak's Suzuki is very good I think. Perhaps she is not so good pitching exactly on the note, some of it does sound wobbly and when the pitch is right on it takes too long to do so, however the sympathy and pessimism of the character contrasts wonderfully with Cio Cio San's naivety and both Zifchak and Racette do very well conveying this. Her acting is excellent, I never found it overdone.
But of the cast, the most consistent was Dwayne Croft as Sharpless, the voice-of-reason character. To me, Croft's portrayal is the most sympathetic, the most nuanced and the most musical of the character since Giorgio Zancanaro. While the voice has a slightly hard edge to it, it still has a pleasing tone and matches the portrayal itself excellently, and his acting contains some of the best of the production.
All in all, I liked it very much, it is not my favourite Butterfly but one I appreciate. 8/10 Bethany Cox
When it comes to productions of Madama Butterfly, I loved the Raina Kabaivanska, Anna Moffo and Catherine Malfitano productions, and liked the Ponelle film with Freni and Domingo, but I have to give it to the 1986 production for the authenticity of the sets and one of the best Sharpless's I've heard or seen.
This Madama Butterfly though is very good. First of all I feel I must credit the costumes and sets. They are simply gorgeous and very authentic, particularly at the start of act 1. As usual the high definition looks fantastic and the videography and sound are very good.
I do agree however that act 3 is too dark, excepting the final scene which was heart-rending, making it rather dull emotionally. I have also noted the controversy regarding the puppet playing Cio-Cio San's son, my feelings were mixed on it actually, the puppet did look great and reacted very well to Racette and she to him, but I did question whether he fitted within the setting and as moving as the final scene was I did wonder whether it would have been even better with a real boy on stage.
From a musical point of view, the production excels. The orchestra play lyrically with attention to musicality, and Patrick Summers' conducting is solid, very sensitive and careful, even if some scenes could have done with more lushness. The chorus perform the humming chorus beautifully, and Minghella's staging apart from one controversial feature is imaginatively done.
Although there are a few weak points, the cast are generally good. Patricia Racette was very effective in the title role. I can understand why some mayn't like her voice, some of her high notes especially in Un Bel Di Vedremo are rather thin and she has a tendency to attack notes and finish flat. However, there is a lot of musicianship and intelligence in her singing. Dramatically, is she the right age for the role. No she isn't, then again none of the Butterflys I've heard or seen(my personal favourites being Freni and Scotto) are. However, a lot of effort is done into making her youthful and authentic and she is outstanding in the final scene.
Marcello Giordani has been an uneven singer for me. There have been times where he is great, such as in the role of Des Grieux, but others where the singing is generally good but the acting isn't quite there, in this case I always felt his Calaf could've been more heroic. This said, I do think he is excellent as Pinkerton, with his top notes ringing and his chemistry with Racette very convincing, their act 1 duet is one of the beautifully sung and erotically charged performances I have heard or seen of this particular duet. His acting is mostly good with such a fascinating and realistic approach, though I do think Pinkerton is a little too romantic, not quite dark in character enough and sounded tragic a little too soon which makes his self-pity less powerful in my view.
Maria Zifchak's Suzuki is very good I think. Perhaps she is not so good pitching exactly on the note, some of it does sound wobbly and when the pitch is right on it takes too long to do so, however the sympathy and pessimism of the character contrasts wonderfully with Cio Cio San's naivety and both Zifchak and Racette do very well conveying this. Her acting is excellent, I never found it overdone.
But of the cast, the most consistent was Dwayne Croft as Sharpless, the voice-of-reason character. To me, Croft's portrayal is the most sympathetic, the most nuanced and the most musical of the character since Giorgio Zancanaro. While the voice has a slightly hard edge to it, it still has a pleasing tone and matches the portrayal itself excellently, and his acting contains some of the best of the production.
All in all, I liked it very much, it is not my favourite Butterfly but one I appreciate. 8/10 Bethany Cox
Brilliantly imagined, breathtaking stagework and sets
angelofvic14 September 2009
Let me tell you, the sets and staging in this were breathtakingly beautiful, beyond mere mortal description, and I was captivated from the very first moment. I felt sure this was going to be my favorite "Butterfly" ever! I was absolutely mesmerized.
However, it didn't fulfill its promise 100%. About the end of Act 2, my enthusiasm was flagging a bit, for the following reasons:
*There weren't any intermissions or curtains or interludes -- only one long 3-hour act with various on-stage scene changes. Exhausting!
*There was no child, but instead an odd-looking stringless puppet, operated stringlessly by two puppeteers in black, right there onstage with all four of their hands on the puppet.
*Instead of the the humming chorus and the Act 2/3 entr'acte-prelude being at a curtain, there was no curtain, but instead a dream ballet sequence was acted out onstage with yet another odd-looking puppet representing the dream-Cio-Cio-San, alongside the real Cio-Cio-San keeping her sitting vigil onstage.
*Act 3 was in total blackness, sky-wise. It's supposed to be morning, daylight! But it was totally black, and the stage got blacker and blacker as it went on. By the end nothing was onstage except the black floor, black sky, and Cio-Cio-San, and the puppet running to and fro (finally he went to the side with his blindfold). Cio-Cio-San does her thing with the dagger, red lights pour over her, and that's it. Pinkerton, in spite of his offstage "Butterfly!"s, arrives onstage much too late and without any dramatic effect whatsoever.
*Because of all of the latter, and the lack of curtains and intermissions, I was exhausted by the end. The lack of daylight or scenery made the end (and indeed the whole last act) flat and dull. The blackness and starkness of the final moment made it emotionless and perfunctory. This was only reinforced by Pinkerton not being there in good time.
I didn't even cry. I always cry at the end of this opera. Boy, what a let-down! As far as the rest of it: I missed hearing James Levine's lush conducting, Patrick Summers was only OK. The singing was adequate; as often happens, the supporting characters sang wonderfully and the principles had a few problems, though Patricia Racette as Cio-Cio-San quickly overcame hers and became very good.
Anyway, I'm so very glad I saw this stunning production, especially the first two acts, which were really unbelievable -- I forgot to mention the wonderful use of dancer-stagehands in black, choreographing the scenery and lanterns and other wonderfully indescribable things. It was a joy to watch, and though the end didn't live up to the beginning, it was a lovely work of art, brilliantly and courageously imagined.
It's well worth seeing for the brilliant sets and staging, so I encourage you to check it out and let it take your breath away.
However, it didn't fulfill its promise 100%. About the end of Act 2, my enthusiasm was flagging a bit, for the following reasons:
*There weren't any intermissions or curtains or interludes -- only one long 3-hour act with various on-stage scene changes. Exhausting!
*There was no child, but instead an odd-looking stringless puppet, operated stringlessly by two puppeteers in black, right there onstage with all four of their hands on the puppet.
*Instead of the the humming chorus and the Act 2/3 entr'acte-prelude being at a curtain, there was no curtain, but instead a dream ballet sequence was acted out onstage with yet another odd-looking puppet representing the dream-Cio-Cio-San, alongside the real Cio-Cio-San keeping her sitting vigil onstage.
*Act 3 was in total blackness, sky-wise. It's supposed to be morning, daylight! But it was totally black, and the stage got blacker and blacker as it went on. By the end nothing was onstage except the black floor, black sky, and Cio-Cio-San, and the puppet running to and fro (finally he went to the side with his blindfold). Cio-Cio-San does her thing with the dagger, red lights pour over her, and that's it. Pinkerton, in spite of his offstage "Butterfly!"s, arrives onstage much too late and without any dramatic effect whatsoever.
*Because of all of the latter, and the lack of curtains and intermissions, I was exhausted by the end. The lack of daylight or scenery made the end (and indeed the whole last act) flat and dull. The blackness and starkness of the final moment made it emotionless and perfunctory. This was only reinforced by Pinkerton not being there in good time.
I didn't even cry. I always cry at the end of this opera. Boy, what a let-down! As far as the rest of it: I missed hearing James Levine's lush conducting, Patrick Summers was only OK. The singing was adequate; as often happens, the supporting characters sang wonderfully and the principles had a few problems, though Patricia Racette as Cio-Cio-San quickly overcame hers and became very good.
Anyway, I'm so very glad I saw this stunning production, especially the first two acts, which were really unbelievable -- I forgot to mention the wonderful use of dancer-stagehands in black, choreographing the scenery and lanterns and other wonderfully indescribable things. It was a joy to watch, and though the end didn't live up to the beginning, it was a lovely work of art, brilliantly and courageously imagined.
It's well worth seeing for the brilliant sets and staging, so I encourage you to check it out and let it take your breath away.
Pinocchio the Opera
Gyran30 October 2009
Never work with children or animals. To which might be added
or puppets. When Anthony Minghela's production of Madama Butterfly premiered in London I was intrigued to read that it featured a life-size puppet as Butterfly's son. It sounded like a silly idea on paper.Now, seeing this production from the Met I was totally knocked out by it. From the moment the child
er puppet walks on stage in the middle of the second act I could not concentrate on anything else. He is controlled by three puppeteers, one for his head, one for his arms and one for his feet. The puppeteers are dressed in black with gauze covering their faces but I loved the fact that you could see the face of the man operating the doll's head. When the doll was happy he was beaming, when the doll was sad he was downcast.
Well, so much for the doll, what about the opera? This has been a star-studded Met season but I got the impression that on this particular afternoon they were fielding the B-team. Patricia Racette is perhaps the wrong side of 40 to convince as a 15-year-old geisha and Marcello Giordani is a wobbly Pinkerton, both physically and vocally. This opera can sometimes be rescued by decent performances in the minor roles but both Dwayne Croft as Sharpless and Maria Zifchak as Suzuki are unconvincing. The orchestra is ploddingly conducted by Patrick Summers.
Apart from the puppet, Minghella's production is unremarkable. It is very colourful and, in fact, looks more like a Broadway musical than an opera. I was particularly disappointed by the Act I love scene between Pinkerton and Butterfly. It takes place on a dark, empty stage lit by a few lanterns. It lacks any sort of intimacy with the singers standing as far from each other as possible as though someone is suffering from a bad attack of halitosis. Maybe it is the opera that I do not like. It is, after all very unpleasant but there was no lyricism in this production to counteract the brutality.
Well, so much for the doll, what about the opera? This has been a star-studded Met season but I got the impression that on this particular afternoon they were fielding the B-team. Patricia Racette is perhaps the wrong side of 40 to convince as a 15-year-old geisha and Marcello Giordani is a wobbly Pinkerton, both physically and vocally. This opera can sometimes be rescued by decent performances in the minor roles but both Dwayne Croft as Sharpless and Maria Zifchak as Suzuki are unconvincing. The orchestra is ploddingly conducted by Patrick Summers.
Apart from the puppet, Minghella's production is unremarkable. It is very colourful and, in fact, looks more like a Broadway musical than an opera. I was particularly disappointed by the Act I love scene between Pinkerton and Butterfly. It takes place on a dark, empty stage lit by a few lanterns. It lacks any sort of intimacy with the singers standing as far from each other as possible as though someone is suffering from a bad attack of halitosis. Maybe it is the opera that I do not like. It is, after all very unpleasant but there was no lyricism in this production to counteract the brutality.
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