In June 1900, Puccini travelled to London to help with
the preparations for the first performance of "Tosca" at Covent Garden.
On the recommendation of a friend, he went to the Duke of York’s Theatre
to see a new one-act play, "Madame Butterfly", which had been adapted
by David Belasco from a short story by John Luther Long. Although the
composer did not understand much of Butterfly’s "Japanese" accent, he
was much taken by the production, especially the heroine’s silent vigil
for Pinkerton. The effect, Puccini later confessed, was like "pouring
petrol on an open fire". By March 1901, Puccini had sent his librettist
Illica a translation of Long’s story, while assuring him that changes
made by Belasco for the play were improvements. Illica started work on
the basis of the story, which has distinct differences from the play and,
in the end, from the opera. Puccini’s publisher, Giulio Ricordi, and Illica
were finally convinced of the subject only when they had read an Italian
translation of Belasco’s play, which they first saw in June that year.
The first part of the libretto reached the composer in October and the
completed version the following summer. As in earlier libretti, Illica
collaborated with the well-known dramatist Giuseppe Giacosa, the latter
responsible for versification of the scenario provided.
Puccini’s work on Madama Butterfly, hampered
at first by delays in the completion of the libretto, was further interrupted
when the composer was injured in a motoring accident. It was with some
difficulty that he was able to complete the orchestration of the opera
in time for rehearsals for the premiere at La Scala. In the event 17
February 1904 brought an operatic disaster, with hostile members of
the first night audience claiming to find immediate repetitions of La
Bohème, and increasing disapproval shown as the work continued.
The evocation of the Japanese countryside by the placing of bird-noises
in the auditorium inspired members of the audience to add their own
farmyard imitations and the performance continued amid uproar. "Madama
Butterfly", however was quickly revised from its then two act form
(performed here), and staged again three months later on 28th. May 1904
at the Teatro Grande in Brescia to a wildly enthusiastic audience. Following
this Puccini himself insisted that future productions should allow him
control over casting, a provision that both delayed and ensured the
opera’s continued success in Italy and abroad, and a production at the
Paris Opéra Comique directed by Albert Carré in December
1906 became the basis for the printed orchestral score, which productions
and recordings have followed ever since.
Despite the recording location in Bremen Theatre, there
is little or no theatre "atmosphere" in this recording; indeed Naxos’s
very well received predecessor recording (8.660015-16) of the opera
has more. The opening scene has the orchestra giving a boxy sound, but
admittedly one soon becomes used to this. Having said this, the performance
is otherwise well up to Naxos’s usual high standard with opera; all
the soloists give strong, assured interpretations of their parts, and
the sound quality is excellent apart from my caveat at the start
of Act 1. Particularly worthy of comment are the dramatic scenes with
Butterfly and Pinkerton, and there is some rapturous duet singing. Butterfly’s
"Un bel di" made me sit up and listen even more carefully. Svetlana
Katchour has a depth of timbre to her voice which makes me think she
would do well as a Brünnhilde in The Ring. Whether or not
one prefers her to Miriam Gauci in the rival Naxos recording is very
much a matter of opinion. Gauci has a much lighter girlish voice, very
appealing, but cannot manage the lower register in her part as does
Katchour. Bruce Rankin as Pinkerton, Kilpelainen, and Eikotter all acquit
themselves well; Brillemberg as Suzuki, however has a similar timbre
to Katchour, and it can be difficult to tell the two apart. Brillemberg
also has a habit of being indistinct with her words at times, possibly
in the search for more beautiful sounds, which she certainly possesses.
The orchestra plays well and the sound is good; one minor quibble is
that the chorus in the Humming Chorus is noticeably but not unduly flat.
A much more serious drawback though is that the otherwise informative
booklet is printed in Italian only; this is fine if you are acquainted
and knowledgeable with the language or the opera. If, like me, you are
neither, it causes a problem in following the plot on stage, despite
the summary given to follow the disc index.
In summary, an interesting issue. My own preference
would be for the standard version, both for the sake of familiarity
and for the better atmospheric surround. Either way, there is the choice
of very decent performances at bargain £10 prices, whichever version
(or both!) you prefer. A very good way to get to know the opera, before
venturing further.
John Portwood
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