Madama Butterfly

Opera (1904)
by Giacomo Puccini

With Yunah Lee (Cio-Cio-San), Kelley O’Connor (Suzuki), Weston Hurt (Sharpless), Dinyar Vania (Lt. Pinkerton), Michael Colvin (Goro), David Lara (The Imperial Commissioner), Thomas Oesterling (The Official Registrar), David Cushing (The Bonze), David McFerrin (Prince Yamadori), Daxton Cochran Jesser (Sorrow), Nicole Rodin (Kate Pinkerton)

It is the late nineteenth century in Nagasaki, Japan. Cio-Cio San is a geisha who has been involved with an American naval officer named Pinkerton. They marry, but, shortly afterwards, Pinkterton leaves on military service. Three years pass and Cio-Cio San remains faithful, waiting dutifully for Pinkerton to return. He does, but, it turns out he has gone back to America and married someone else. Meanwhile, Cio-Cio San’s life has become more complicated – she has had Pinkerton’s child – and the ruination of her hopes for a continuing life with Pinkerton throws her into a state of desperation.

This very competent production of the great Puccini opera includes some wonderful singing.

In the lead, as Cio-Cio-San, Yunah Lee was very good. She has a dramatic sense – she embodies this role with heart and vividness – and her voice is strong and impassioned. When she came out for her bows, the audience leapt to its feet.

Equally wonderful was Kelley O’Connor in the role of her maidservant, Suzuki. She has a warm and rich mezzo that carries like thick, delicious honey, and its dark reverberations were stirring. She also got a notable reception from the audience for this performance, a wonderful Boston Lyric Opera debut.

Weston Hurt as the naval emissary, Sharpless, was quite good also, carrying that role with nobility and empathy.

Daxton Cochran Jesser (Sorrow), a little kid, was just great, doing all his moves perfectly and charmingly. It was not a singing role, but it was winning nevertheless.

The sets themselves were quite simple, but charming in their own way, and they were lit nicely. There was a crimson panel hung down in the back that reminded me a bit of a Rothko painting. There was a moment when, during a dressing scene, a panel came down and the sequence was beautifully enacted in silhouette.

But, despite these and some of the other successful staging choices, some of the staging was pretty weird.

During an orchestral interlude in the second half, there was a dream scene of Cio-Cio-San, Pinkerton and their grown child that was revealed for about thirty seconds, then removed. It took a long time, and some stage tumult, to put up the scenery for it, and basically it was there and gone and less than persuasive.

As well, during the second half, there was an odd sequence with large cherry blossom decorations suspended from the rafters. It was not effective.

Just before that cherry blossom display, there was a pretty strange moment when Suzuki and Cio-Cio-San came forward and snapped open their fans for a duet. It was as though, all of a sudden, we were watching a jazzy number from a Broadway show. Though the duet was lovely, this piece of staging seemed strange, tonally off, and superfluous.

The orchestra played well throughout.

Because of the short-lived nature of these productions at the BLO, the nature of them is quite different from the results at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Sets are very much simpler than at the Met. And the orchestra, though highly competent and staffed by very good professionals, is not a full-time operation as it is at the Met. Though extremely good in many ways, the BLO productions are charming and enjoyable, but on a different scale.

But, speaking of the Met, I wonder if we are likely to catch Kelley O’Connor at it before too long. The quality of her performance here suggested the possibility of inclusion there.

– BADMan