Prices A 120€ B 90€ C 66€ D 28€
Usual discounts apply
Japanese tragedy in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica inspired by the play Madama Butterfly by David Belasco, at the same time inspired by John Luther Long's short story of the same name.
Following the failure of its premier at Milan’s Teatro alla Scala on the 17th of February, 1904, Puccini made subsequent revisions, with a successful production in 1907 of the opera’s definite version, the one that is usually performed all over the world.
Musical production Teatro Cervantes de Málaga
Stage production Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofía
Cio-Cio-San Claudia Pavone
B.F. Pinkerton Antonio Gandía
Sharpless Željko Lucic
Suzuki Nozomi Kato
Goro Luis Pacetti
Uncle Bonzo Javier Castañeda
Orquesta Filarmónica de Málaga
Coro de Ópera de Málaga
Stage direction Emilio López
Scenography Manuel Zuriaga
Video Miguel Bosh
Lighting Antonio Castro
Choir director María del Mar Muñoz Varo
Conductor Giuseppe Finzi
Stationed on board the USS Abraham Lincoln at Nagasaki, F.B. Pinkerton, an American navy officer, and Cio-Cio-San, a young Japanese geisha known as ‘Butterfly’, fall in love and get married. He has to go back to the United States, and for three years she waits for him to come back, despite her family’s efforts to convince her that he will not return. During that time Cio-Cio-San raises their son, born following the officer’s departure. Pinkerton finally comes back, accompanied by his new legitimate American wife, with the intention of taking his son back to the United States. Butterfly is devastated, and decides to kill herself.
When in 1900 Puccini, already famous due to the success of his operas La bohème and Tosca, saw the play Madama Butterfly, by David Belasco ─based in turn by a short story by John Luther Long─ in London, he was very impressed. The exotic Far Eastern setting, which was fashionable in Europe at that time, and above all, the tragic story of the young Japanese woman who finally commits suicide after being seduced and abandoned, were perfectly suited to his extraordinary capacity to move audiences with his music. Despite the composer's prestige and expectations, the first version of his Madama Butterfly, premiered at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan in 1904, was a complete failure. Three months later, in Brescia, a more agile and proportionate version was performed, which was received with enthusiasm. However, the score was to undergo further revisions until 1906.
When he wrote Madama Butterfly, Puccini was at the height of his melodic inspiration. From a technical point of view, he had mastered everything that the music of his time had achieved, combining the subtlest poetry with the most impetuous drama. It is his most performed work and the title role is one of the most desired by sopranos.
Prices A 120€ B 90€ C 66€ D 28€
Usual discounts apply
