Madama Butterfly

As with everything Japanese, even ersatz Japanese productions like this, the execution of Madama Butterfly by Opera Australia was simple and elegant.

The heartache of Cio-Cio San (Madama Butterfly) and American Lieutenant Pinkerton is played out within a modest yet beautiful set of timber platforms that look as if they’re floating on water.

The two lovers, created by Giocomo Puccini, are, of course, worlds apart. The Lieutenant is merely sweeping through Nagasaki looking for a house, with every intention of returning to America. Cio-Cio San is a meek 15-year-old Japanese girl with dreams of marriage. Her aspirations become her prison.

A classic opera composed in 1903, Madama Butterfly has certainly stood the test of time, but in this production it’s brought into the modern era. Staged by Opera Australia more times than any other opera, all that’s  needed to set the scene, even after this many years, is a sprinkling of cherry blossom and a well-cut kimono, the ballads that Opara aficionados love, like the grandiose finale, Con Onor Muore (To Die With Honour), and some love-induced drama.

For those unfamiliar with opera, this classic is a superb way to start discovering this genre. The storyline is relatively simple yet affecting; the costumes, mood and characters are easy to follow and speak of the story visually, and, as usual, there are subtitles for everyone in the room unversed in Italian.