Puccini's "Madame Butterfly"

The history of "Madame Butterfly," which Puccini composed in 1904, is a strange one. At its production in Milan, it was hissed off the stage and withdrawn after a single performance. No one seems to know why it failed to please the Scala audience, with whom Puccini had previously been a great favorite. Possibly the unfamiliar Japanese surroundings displeased the conservative Milanese, or the singers may have been inadequate.
 
At any rate, when it was revived a few months later at Brescia, in a slightly revised form, "Madame Butterfly" managed to win favor, and its London appearance the following year was a brilliant triumph.
 
Since then, "Madame Butterfly" has gone the round of Europe and America and is now probably the most popular opera in the modern repertory.

"Madame Butterfly" Plot Synopsis

The story of "Madame Butterfly" is familiar to many. Peculiarly apt for musical setting, it's the tale of a fascinating woman who contracts a so-called Japanese marriage with a lieutenant in the American navy and after a brief union is driven by his disloyalty to suicide. Here's a brief plot summary:

The scene opens in the garden of a country house among the hills above Nagasaki. Lieutenant Pinkerton and his friend Sharpless, the American consul, are inspecting the retreat, which the former has prepared for his Japanese wife. The voices of Butterfly and her girl friends are soon heard in the distance as they ascend the hill.

After an amusing scene of greeting and introduction comes the marriage ceremony and its attendant festivities, which are interrupted by the arrival of Butterfly's uncle. This venerable person, who is a priest in a neighboring temple, has discovered that Butterfly has renounced her own religion and adopted that of her husband. He pronounces a curse upon Butterfly and is bundled out by Pinkerton. The act ends with a love duet of extraordinary beauty, breathing tenderness and passion in strains that seem to embody all the charm and mystery of the perfumed eastern night.

Three years have passed when the next act begins. Butterfly is deserted and lives with her two-year-old baby and her faithful maid Suzuki, praying and waiting for the husband who never comes. The friendly consul tries to break to her the news of Pinkerton's marriage to an American girl, but Butterfly cannot comprehend such disloyalty.

Butterfly sees Pinkerton's ship entering the harbor and calls Suzuki to help her deck the house with flowers. The music of this scene is exquisite, as is also that of the scene in which Sharpless reads Pinkerton's letter to Butterfly. The entire act is full of delicious melody and tender pathos. It ends curiously, but not without effect, with a short orchestral movement, played while Butterfly, Suzuki and the child post themselves at the windows to watch through the night for the coming of Pinkerton.

The grey dawn shows Butterfly still at her post (though the others have fallen asleep) with no Pinkerton. A little later, Pinkerton sneaks in with his wife, whom he commissions to interview Butterfly while he waits in the garden outside. Mrs. Pinkerton rather cold-bloodedly offers to take charge of the child, to which Butterfly agrees, and, after a passionate farewell, kills herself behind a screen.

The Original Cast of "Madame Butterfly"
"Madame Butterfly" premiered on Feb. 17, 1904. The original cast and characters of "Madame Butterfly" are as follows:
  • Cio-Cio San (Madame Butterfly): Rosina Storchio
  • Suzuki, her maid:Giuseppina Giaconia
  • B. F. Pinkerton, Lieutenant in the United States Navy: Giovanni Zenatello
  • Sharpless, United States consul at Nagasaki: Giuseppe de Luca
  • Goro, a matchmaker: Gaetano Pini-Corsi
  • Prince Yamadori: Antonio Volpini
  • The Bonze, Cio-Cio San's uncle: Emilio Venturini
  • Yakuside, Cio-Cio San's uncle: Paolo Wulmann
  • The Imperial Commissioner: Viale
  • The Official Registrar: Gennari
  • Cio-Cio San's mother: Tina Alasia
  • The aunt: Ghissoni
  • The cousin: Palmira Maggi
  • Kate Pinkerton: Manfredi
  • Dolore (Sorrow), Cio-Cio San's child
  • Cio-Cio San's relations and friends and servants

Puccini's Style in "Madame Butterfly"

Puccini's music is unquestionably his strong point. The score of "Madame Butterfly" is richer and more solid than that of any of his earlier works, and the orchestration shows no falling off in ingenuity and resource.

Melodically, "Madame Butterfly" is perhaps not as fresh or abundant as "La Bohème," but the composer's touch is firmer and surer in handling dramatic situations.

"Madame Butterfly" is unquestionably one of the most interesting and important operas of modern times, as it is one of the most visually attractive. It established Puccini more firmly than ever in the position of the leading operatic composer of his day.

Resources

Streatfeild, R. A. (July 9, 2005). The Opera, third edition. London: George Routledge & Sons, Ltd.