Michigan Opera Plays Madame Butterfly

An opera in two acts, Giacomo Puccini’s masterpiece will be sung in Italian with English supertitle translations projected above the stage.

Madame Butterfly artists include many making their Michigan Opera Theatre debuts. Chilean soprano Veronica Villarroel (15, 19, 22) will make her MOT debut alternating in the title role with Japanese soprano Mihoko Kinoshita (16, 21, 23), who will also make her MOT debut. American tenor James Valenti (15, 19, 22), singing the role of B. F. Pinkerton, debuts with MOT following his highly-acclaimed performance in Madame Butterfly with the San Francisco Opera in 2007. He will be alternating in the role with David Pomeroy (16, 21, 23), who made his MOT debut in the spring 2008 season as Ruggiero in La Rondine. Taiwanese-American tenor Joseph Hu makes his MOT debut as Goro, in what has become one of his signature roles. American baritone Daniel Sutin will make his MOT debut in the role of Sharpless, and Japanese-American mezzo-soprano Mika Shigematsu will make her MOT debut as Suzuki.

Italian maestro Edoardo Muller also returns to MOT to conduct Madame Butterfly after his most recent conducting engagement at MOT, The Barber of Seville in 2006. Directing the production is Italian stage director and MOT regular Mario Corradi. The production was originally created for the Los Angeles Opera, made available courtesy of the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera.

Set in the city of Nagasaki, Japan, Madame Butterfly is a 15-year-old Japanese geisha who falls in love with and marries an American soldier, Lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton, for whom she has renounced her family and faith. Soon, Pinkerton’s tour of duty in Japan is over, and he returns to the United States, leaving his wife, but promising to return. Time goes by, Butterfly has delivered their baby, and still she still believes Pinkerton will come back for her. Finally, Pinkerton returns to Japan - but with his new American wife. Mrs. Pinkerton pleads with Butterfly to leave the child with the Americans and in a tragic ending, Butterfly relinquishes the child but leaves the lieutenant and the audience with a beautiful aria of lost innocence and farewell.

The music of Madame Butterfly contains many famous arias that are some of the most performed in the repertoire. Some of the most noted include “Vogliatemi bene” (Love me), “Un bel di vedremo” (One fine day we shall see), and “Tu, tu piccolo Iddio” (You, O beloved idol!). -- www.motopera.org