Madame Butterfly - Detroit Opera

Overview

Freeing Butterfly

An all-Japanese and Japanese-American creative team transports Puccini’s tragedy to a virtual-reality setting that re-envisions how we view Madame Butterfly’s story. Experience the music you know and love in a production that re-imagines the opera’s events through the fantasy of a modern-day Pinkerton.


Groups

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Audio


Pre-Opera Talks

Detroit Opera offers complimentary opera talks one hour prior to each performance. Noted experts provide background and important information on what you will see on stage, enhancing your performance experience! Opera Talks provide an insightful and entertaining preview of the works performed on stage.

Unless otherwise directed, Talks take place on the main floor of the auditorium, between aisles two and six.

Madame Butterfly Pre-Opera Talks

Saturday, October 7 2023 6:30pm – Before the premiere of our new production of Madame Butterfly, Detroit Opera Director of External Affairs, Arthur White talked with Head of Music Nathalie Doucet and Lighting Designer Yuki Nakase Link about producing a work through a different lens and the challenges for women in the performing arts industry.

Friday, October 13 2023 6:30pm –  Before the second performance of our new production of Madame Butterfly, Director of External Affairs, Arthur White talked with the President of Verdi Opera Theater of Michigan John Zaretti about the origins of the opera’s creation, and Japanese-born conductor Kensho Watanabe about his history with the opera.

Sunday October 15 2023 1:30pm – “Ok, if we were to say ‘no traditional production’, what would you do?” Stage director Matthew Ozawa talks with Detroit Opera Gary L. Wasserman Artistic Director Yuval Sharon about his concept behind his production of Madame Butterfly, before the final performance at the Detroit Opera House. Hosted by Director of External Affairs Arthur White.


Press

Matthew Ozawa’s new production of Madame Butterfly is “upending … stereotypes about women and Japanese culture… ‘We have an immense duty to this piece, to Butterfly and to the Asian community,’ Ozawa said. ‘There might be some discomfort in our story, but change can only come if there’s discomfort.’ ” – Javier C. Hernández, New York Times, July 24, 2023

“It’s an extraordinary re-envisioning of the opera, a subtle critique that does no violence to the work but focuses attention on what is already there.” – Joe Law, Opera News, July 27, 2023

“Karah Son is an extraordinary talent; a wondrous voice full of expression and emotion, colour and sensitivity. What amazing vocal control as she becomes Cio-Cio-San, the beautiful and trusting young geisha so cynically exploited by Pinkerton, the heartless, misogynistic American naval lieutenant.” – Daily Telegraph

“The fantastical, anime-inspired sets were designed by Kimie Nishikawa, while Maiko Matsushima designed the boldly colored costumes. Elsewhere, Yuki Nakase Link has created an otherworldly lightscape that brings Nishikawa’s sets to life. Indeed, the whole team has been working together to craft an experience that takes Puccini’s work to a modern realm—all while retaining the authenticity of the original manuscript.” —Pride Source, September 2023


Program

Fast Facts

*NEW PRODUCTION*

OPERA IN THREE ACTS

MUSIC BY GIACOMO PUCCINI
LIBRETTO BY LUIGI ILLICA AND GIUSEPPE GIACOSA
Based on the play by DAVID BELASCO
Performed in Italian with projected English translations

CONDUCTOR: KENSHO WATANABE
DIRECTOR: MATTHEW OZAWA
SET DESIGNER: DOTS
COSTUME DESIGNER: MAIKO MATSUSHIMA
LIGHTING DESIGNER: YUKI NAKASE LINK

DURATION: 2 hours 45 minutes including one intermission

A CO-PRODUCTION OF DETROIT OPERA, CINCINNATI OPERA, UTAH OPERA, AND PITTSBURGH OPERA

Artists

Matthew Ozawa

Director

Kensho Watanabe

Conductor

Karah Son

Cio-Cio-San, Madame Butterfly

Eric Taylor

Lt. Pinkerton

Kristen Choi

Suzuki

Nmon Ford

Sharpless

Julius Ahn

Goro

Hyungjin Son

The Bonze

Rolfe Dauz
RA

Yamadori/Imperial Commissioner

Lisa Marie Rogali
RA

Kate Pinkerton

dots

Scenery design

Maiko Matsushima

Costume design

Yuki Nakase Link

Lighting Design

Synopsis

In the present day, B.F. Pinkerton enters his apartment and dons a VR headset to escape into a fantasy. Within moments, he rejoins a game which transports him to Nagasaki, where he embodies his avatar as a U.S. Navy lieutenant. He inspects a house that he will occupy with his young bride, Cio-Cio- San (a.k.a. Madame Butterfly). Sharpless, the U.S. Consul, arrives, and Pinkerton shares his vision of a sailor in search of pleasure and the beautiful Japanese girl who has captivated him. Sharpless tries to warn him of this view, but Pinkerton laughs, toasting the American girl who will someday be his “real” wife.

Butterfly, her colleagues, and family arrive for the wedding. She tells Pinkerton that since her father’s death, she now earns her living as a geisha. She also has secretly converted to Christianity. The Imperial Commissioner performs the marriage ceremony. Then, Cio-Cio-San’s uncle, the Bonze, bursts in. He curses her, inciting the crowd. Protecting Butterfly, Pinkerton orders the guests away. Butterfly weeps and her new husband consoles her. As night falls in this pleasure fantasy, the lovers share a moonlit duet.

Three years later, modern-day Pinkerton and his American wife have grown distant. His only means of escape is through gaming, where he can manipulate his Japanese bride’s future. In the virtual world, Cio-Cio-San patiently waits for him. Her servant Suzuki implores the gods for aid, but Butterfly bids her to have faith—one day, Pinkerton will return and embrace his wife again.

Sharpless enters with a letter telling of Pinkerton’s marriage to an American. Before he can tell Butterfly, Goro interrupts along with a suitor, Prince Yamadori. Cio-Cio-San refuses his marriage proposal. She brings forth her young son, Trouble, and insists that as soon as Pinkerton knows of him, he will return. If not, she would rather die.

A cannon roars from the harbor, and Butterfly discovers Pinkerton’s ship coming into port. She and Suzuki strew the house with blossoms. As evening falls, she prepares to keep vigil through the night.

Modern-day Pinkerton turns off the game and goes to bed. In the middle of the night, the game turns on, luring him back to play the next level, where he chooses how he will impact Butterfly’s destiny. Pinkerton chooses an American wife avatar, Kate. As the level continues, Butterfly still waits, though Suzuki persuades her to rest. Soon, Sharpless, Pinkerton and Kate arrive. Suzuki realizes who the woman is and reluctantly agrees to inform Butterfly. Pinkerton, now aware of Butterfly’s devotion, bids an anguished farewell and rushes away. Cio-Cio-San hurries in expecting to find her husband, and instead finds Kate. She instantly guesses the truth and touchingly wishes Kate happiness. She says that Pinkerton may have his son if he will return for him.

Butterfly orders Suzuki and Trouble away. She has no choice but to escape this nightmare, and she pulls out the dagger with which her father committed suicide. As she raises the blade to her throat, Trouble appears. Cio-Cio-San drops the knife and embraces him. She then blindfolds him, takes the dagger, and stabs herself. As the fantasy dies, Pinkerton desperately tries to hold onto his creation, Butterfly.

Videos

Images

Sponsors

Season Sponsor

William Davidson Foundation logo

 

Supported by:

Cadillac

Erb Family Foundation

Gilbert Family Foundation

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News/Blog

The Detroit Passion for Performance

As I enter my eighth year in professional sports, my eye has sharpened its skill to find beauty in all types of performances. In October 2023, some players from the Men’s Detroit City Football Club (DCFC) as well as some staff, attended a rehearsal of Detroit Opera’s Madame Butterfly.

Read More
Detroit Opera Music Director Roberto Kalb on One Detroit

Roberto Kalb, Detroit Opera Music Director, sat down with Cecelia Sharpe, One Detroit contributor, to discuss Detroit Opera’s upcoming season!

Read More
Releasing Butterfly

By Matthew Ozawa Director of Madame Butterfly As we allow ourselves to become immersed in the fantasy of Japan portrayed in Puccini’s Madame But...

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Detroit Opera Announces 23/24 Opera Season

Detroit Opera Announces “Collide and Collage,” its 2023–24 Opera Season featuring Madame Butterfly and Breaking the Waves.

Read More

Fast Facts

*NEW PRODUCTION*

OPERA IN THREE ACTS

MUSIC BY GIACOMO PUCCINI
LIBRETTO BY LUIGI ILLICA AND GIUSEPPE GIACOSA
Based on the play by DAVID BELASCO
Performed in Italian with projected English translations

CONDUCTOR: KENSHO WATANABE
DIRECTOR: MATTHEW OZAWA
SET DESIGNER: DOTS
COSTUME DESIGNER: MAIKO MATSUSHIMA
LIGHTING DESIGNER: YUKI NAKASE LINK

DURATION: 2 hours 45 minutes including one intermission

A CO-PRODUCTION OF DETROIT OPERA, CINCINNATI OPERA, UTAH OPERA, AND PITTSBURGH OPERA

Sponsors

Season Sponsor

William Davidson Foundation logo

 

Supported by:

Cadillac

Erb Family Foundation

Gilbert Family Foundation