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Met Opera Live - Puccini, Madama Butterfly: Metropolitan Opera’s HD transmission live to the Barbican Cinema, London. 7.3.2009 (JPr)


This production of Madama Butterfly - the only opera directed by the late Anthony Minghella – was originally mounted for English National Opera and there I reviewed it when it was last revived at the London Coliseum in January 2008 (see review). Much of what I wrote about this staging is still applicable here of course; though it is sung in the original Italian now which allows for more beauty and the spinning out of legato lines more gracefully than does singing Puccini in English.

There are some stunning images right from the start:  in silence a young Japanese bride – possibly representing Butterfly herself - slowly appears and moves down the slanting stage with her kimono trailing crimson sashes. Veiled figures costumed all in black as though already in mourning, bind her waist ready for the wedding. This ritual over, the music begins. In the theatre Michael Levin’s box-like set has a mirror which rises to provide extended depth and interesting perspectives to the stage pictures, most of which are totally lost in Gary Halvorson’s TV presentation. Apart from one or two specific moments and a few long shots showing 12 lanterns and the falling lotus blossom during in the Act I love duet ‘Viene la sera’, everything else is  mainly in close-up. In this regard much of the beautiful imagery that Minghella wanted is lost but then much is also gained because of the naturalistic approach to the interaction between the characters this elegant filmmaker wanted. The vastness of the opera house makes such intimate moments difficult to see while here in this film, they finds the best possible medium in which to be presented. Overall,   it is still possible to be carried away by this production's  blending of Japanese and Western theatre.

Still marvellous is Butterfly’s entry as her wedding party arrives. Their rising over a turquoise horizon and moving downstage with their reflections in the mirror and on the floor, is still a riot of sumptuous colour in Han Feng's costumes. From then on this broadcast focuses on the drama with stunning effect. There is a pivotal moment when Act II opens where we see how happy Butterfly is as she serves tea to Pinkerton. This contentment is short-lived of course and one of the ever-present sliding screens of stage takes her husband away. Some furniture goes too, probably to pay the bills, and all she is left with is the chair that Pinkerton sat in and, of course, ‘Sorrow’, their son. In the blink of an eye we realise how fleeting Butterfly’s true happiness was and how her tragic ending is inevitable. On a large screen the puppet ‘child’ -  too small for a large theatre – really comes to ‘life’. Its three puppeteers from the Blind Summit Theatre are easily ignored and I was so convinced by Sorrow’s reactions that I almost believed I saw different expressions pass across the face of the little Japanese doll dressed in its sailor suit.

There is another powerful image to conclude this evening when we see Butterfly in long shot with the crimson sashes that were wound around the bride at the beginning of the opera now extending from her body like the spreading of her blood. This production is respectfully recreated by Anthony Minghella’s wife, Carolyn Choa and she said they chose the opera because it combines her husband's Italian background and her far-east roots and because of the ‘tightly written libretto that can almost stand up on its own as a play without the music’. It will be the sadly-missed Minghella’s lasting testament.

The Met were blessed with a splendid cast and – London’s Royal Opera please note – they were mostly American. Patricia Racette, a thirteen performance veteran of this production, replaced the previously announced Cristina Gallardo-Domâs who was ill. The backstage interviews typical of these Met broadcasts showed us what a clear-headed and engaging person Ms Racette is. She was particularly enlightening when talking to Renée Fleming about how she prepares for the demands of the part: ‘You really have to put yourself in a cocoon in your preparation, my social life goes to nothing and you are spending your time putting all your energies, physical, emotion, mental and vocal into the role’. When reminded that she was portraying a 15-year old girl she caused a big laugh when she said how difficult it was to try to be someone ‘half your age’. That the singer here is many years older than her character is supposed to be,  did not matter for one moment, so complete was Ms Racette’s identification with the role. With marvellous stamina she poured forth some wonderfully thrilling sounds from a generously large voice ideal for Puccini. When she sang ‘Un bel di’ her longing and faith were  palpable as was her eventual suicide after a gut-wrenching cry of despair.

Pinkerton’s two arias were sung in true Italian verismo style by Marcello Giordani one of the finest tenor voices of this generation. He enthusiastically expressed how an American needs to drop ‘his anchor’ when in a foreign country but also showed genuine remorse in Act II. He is a Met favourite and last autumn after singing the title role in The Damnation of Faust at one matinee, he sang Pinkerton at the following evening performance when a colleague was ill. That the supporting cast were not in the same league is not to belittle them in any way as Racette and Giordani set such a high standard.

In her interview, Maria Zifchak who was Minghella’s original Suzuki recalled working with the director and said how he wanted all the singers to ‘pare our usual methods of opera performing down’ to produce something more intimate. Though far from being a veteran Ms Zifchak has notched up 225 performances in 29 different roles at the Met; this sort of company loyalty is also something missing from opera in London. She was a very caring servant who clearly never believed for one moment that Pinkerton would return but could not bring herself to disappoint her mistress; she struck exactly the right balance of demeanour and sang sensitively. Dwayne Croft was typically gruff, stolid and sympathetic as Sharpless and there seems little else to do with this role. There was no weak link and Greg Fedderly (Goro), Dean Peterson (Bonze), Edyta Kulczak (Kate Pinkerton) and David Won (Yamadori) all made good impressions.

Patrick Summers, also American, led his impeccable orchestra through a flamboyant reading of the score bringing out all the passion and tension that Puccini demands. This was a performance with real frisson and I wish we could have more opera evenings like this with our home companies.

Jim Pritchard

The Barbican Met Opera Live series continues on 21 March with Bellini’s La Sonnambula: for further details visit www.barbican.org.uk/film or check the listings of your local cinemas. 

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