Monday 7 May 2012

Madama Butterfly

The failure of Puccini's Madama Butterfly at La Scala, Milan in 1904 is one of opera's most celebrated fiascos. Puccini immediately withdrew the work, made a few judicious cuts and re-writes, and a couple of months later it emerged triumphant in Brescia. Since then, it has become one of the most popular and loved works in the repertory.



Puccini had seen David Belasco's play at the Duke of York's theatre in London, and although he spoke virtually no English, he saw its potential as an opera, and was particularly taken by the long pantomime where Butterfly waits through the night for her husband to return. Working with Giacosa and Illica, the librettists for La Boheme and Tosca, the original draft included an act taking place at the US consulate, but after composing the first act, Puccini realised that the whole opera should take place in the house on the hill. Butterfly herself is therefore very much at the heart of the drama, onstage almost all the time once she makes her entrance in the first act. Although the character is fifteen, audiences are often required to considerably suspend their disbelief: bringing out the various facets of her character not only requires considerable vocal skill, but the vocal stamina and pacing required for the role needs years of experience.

Pinkerton, the reckless, unthinking husband, is a tenor: it's unusual in opera to have an unsympathetic tenor. In the revised version, Puccini added a short aria, Addio fiorito asil in which Pinkerton recognises his poor behaviour and chastises himself. 


Was this an attempt to attract some sympathy for Pinkerton and was this a mistake on Puccini's part? Modern criticisms and some productions of the opera have tended to move away from pretty chocolate-box affairs to consider the less attractive sides of the opera: that Butterfly is a fifteen year old, underage geisha girl, pimped and trafficked into a loveless marriage. Puccini may not have considered this important, but 100 years later, should we? This is explored a little further in the musical, Miss Saigon (see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdi8c70rE_4 ), but the presence of an American in Nagasaki does also suggest another updating.

Madama Butterfly can be seen as part of the fashion for all things Oriental that took place at the turn of the twentieth century. As well as Butterfly, Mascagni's opera Iris, and Sullivan's The Mikado are both set in Japan. Puccini integrated Japanese tunes from a musical box lent to him by the wife of the Japanese ambassador to give the score some local colour (he did a similar thing for Turandot and La fanciulla del West): clearly he and Sullivan borrowed the same musical box. The music that introduces Prince Yamadori in the second act, is also heard in The Mikado:


Yamadori's entrance:

 

Local colour also extends to Pinkerton singing along to the American national anthem which, in the days before widespread recording, would have probably seemed less conspicuous as it does now. Butterfly's main aria is the famous Un bel di, One fine day in which she pictures and imagines Pinkerton's return after three years. The opening phrase is heard at the end of the aria to lodge the theme in our mind for it will return at several key moments. Here is the aria proper:

 

The tune is associated with Pinkerton's return. It can be heard when Butterfly sees his ship in the harbour:








For me, though, its most shattering use is when Butterfly bids goodbye to Sharpless for her boy. Her words: Oggi il mio nome e Dolore, pero... Today my name is Sorrow, but.... and on the pero, the music begins to change. dite al babbo, scrivendogli, che il giorno del suo ritorno Gioia, Gioia, mi chiamero!... write to my daddy and tell him that when he comes back, I will be called Joy, Joy! And on the word ritorno the theme is played in triumph:








Of course, it is very clear from the beginning of the opera that Pinkerton will never return, and Puccini uses this dramatic irony to his advantage, reusing themes that remind us of past events and happiness that will never return again. The music heard at the end of Butterfly's entrance also closes the Love Duet and is played again as dawn breaks with hope (along with a snatch of Un bel di) in the final part. Played slightly broader, it is also the tune to which Butterfly says that she will follow her destiny, her new life and her new god with Pinkerton:







  
One final important theme is that associated with Butterfly's father and his honour killing: it seems to recur when matters of family and honour are at stake:









In the Love Duet, Butterfly complains of hating her name as, in other countries, butterflies are caught and pinned to boards. There are times when Puccini aurally "pins" both Butterfly and us. The cannon shot in the harbour, Butterfly's realisation that she has been forgotten (just before bringing out her boy) and her realisation who Kate is, are all marked by chords of realisation in the orchestra that seem to strike at the heart. We are not immune from this, for Puccini is not afraid to overwhelm us either when the drama permits it. There is the moment when Butterfly runs off to find Sorrow (or Trouble as he was called in the English original) for Sharpless, but perhaps the bit that hits hardest for me is after she has seen the ship through the telescope. My love is triumphant she sings, over the tune of the Star Spangled Banner, ei torna..e m'ama!: he has returned... and he loves me! Puccini here returns to one of the themes from the Love Duet, blared out triumphantly, almost drowning out the singer, and truth be told, I want this moment to be so overwhelming that I can't hear Butterfly's last syllable:








 The opera closes with a reprise of a theme of Butterfly, the dancing geisha girl. But the final chord is harsh, dissonant, unresolved: it hangs there. Perhaps Puccini is questioning our response to this entertainment after all.

There are several performances available on YouTube. Here, in two parts, is Anthony Minghella's production from the MET: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_lR9A3DWtI and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cJdqad-eJo The production uses Japanese theatre techniques and, controversially, a puppet to portray Trouble. Jean Pierre Ponnelle's film uses a well known recording as its soundtrack but the film is rather studio bound and soft-focussed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROzuKxkKDvA The production from La Scala has a rather colourless set but does feature Giorgio Zancanaro as Sharpless: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeJUjMJJKes Finally, this black and white film from 1956 made Anna Moffo a start overnight, aged 23: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DemV7RhCjUY She was a very well known and popular soprano in the 50s/60s. Along with Moffo, some of the most celebrated performers of the role were Mirella Freni, Renata Scotto, Renata Tebaldi, Maria Callas, Victoria de los Angeles, Licia Albanese and Toti dal Monte (who lightened her voice to sing it as a little girl).

1 comment:

  1. I *love* this opera, It's jam packed full of emotion that makes me cry every time. I find the reoccuring Love Duet theme particularly moving.

    Thank you for pointing out all the various themes, this has further increased my enjoyment of it.

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