The world première of Madama Butterfly at La Scala on February 17, 1904, was a huge fiasco, recalling the disastrous first performances of two other Italian operas that later became cornerstones of the repertoire, Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia and Verdi’s La traviata. Puccini, in the months before the première, had been confident of success for this new opera, which he considered his best to date. The composer had already penned Manon Lescaut, La bohème, and Tosca, and had inherited Verdi’s position as master of the Italian lyric stage. However, on opening night, the audience’s vocal reaction drowned out both orchestra and singers; the cast and composer endured boos and laughter.

The original version of Madama Butterfly was not the opera the audience had expected from Puccini. Musically, the composer was well aware of his contemporaries. He found the impressionism of Frenchman Claude Debussy intriguing and in Madama Butterfly experimented with new harmonies and musical techniques. Dramatically the opera contained many realistic Japanese details, and no effort was made to relieve the unpleasantness of certain characters, most notably Pinkerton, who did not even have an expected aria. The opera’s two lengthy acts challenged the audience’s attention. Moreover, rumors circulated that some detractors of Puccini, envious of his growing recognition, helped arrange opposition to the new work.

Following the opening night disaster, Puccini and his librettist withdrew the work, returning the fee for performance rights to La Scala. Puccini, however, was confident the opera would eventually succeed. The composer made cuts and revisions, the two acts became three, and Pinkerton was given an exit aria. With these alterations Madama Butterfly triumphed three months later in Brescia on May 28, 1904. However, Puccini continued to change the music and it was not until 1907 that Puccini felt he had attained the definitive edition of the score. It is this version, with a few minor changes, that has become familiar to audiences, and it is the one that Sarasota Opera presents.

Puccini described himself as a man of the theater and always trusted that the story of Cio-Cio-San would affect an audience. Working with his librettists, Puccini demanded a dramatic structure that would center attention on the emotional lives of the characters. Even after he had begun to set the prepared text to music, Puccini persuaded his librettists to cut a scene in the American consulate that he felt would dilute the dramatic swiftness of the story. For his entire career, Puccini searched for suitable subjects for his operas, contemplating at different times works based on Marie Antoinette, the Children’s Crusade, Oscar Wilde’s The Florentine Tragedy and Victor Hugo’s Notre Dame de Paris. He traveled to Paris to discuss Pelléas et Mélisande with its author, Maurice Maeterlinck, only to discover that Debussy was preparing to turn the work into an opera.

Madama Butterfly was written at a time when there was a great deal of interest in Japan. Because it was a great distance away and one of the last countries to open up to foreigners, tales of Japan fascinated Western readers. In 1893, André Messager’s opera, Madame Chrysanthème, based on the 1866 novel of Pierre Loti, told the story of a naval officer and a temporary Japanese wife, though this opera’s tone was ironic and very unsentimental. Pietro Mascagni (the composer of Cavalleria rusticana) in 1898 wrote Iris, another opera set in Japan.

Despite its unsuccessful first performance, Madama Butterfly has become one of the most frequently performed operas in the world, far surpassing the other works set in the Far East written at the time. Puccini’s opera has also influenced works in other media: from the 1962 movie comedy My Geisha starring Shirley MacLaine, to Henry David Hwang’s award winning play M. Butterfly, to the Broadway musical Miss Saigon.

Sarasota Opera last presented Madama Butterfly in 2017. Other Puccini operas produced by the company include Manon Lescaut, La bohème, Tosca, La rondine, La fanciulla del West, and Il trittico (the three one-act operas Il tabarro, Suor Angelica, and Gianni Schicchi), and Turandot.

Greg Trupiano – Greg Trupiano (1955-2020) joined Sarasota Opera in 1987 and was with the company until his death. He was also founder and artistic director of The Walt Whitman Project.

The setting is Nagasaki at the turn of the 20^th Century

ACT I

Pinkerton, a lieutenant in the United States Navy, inspects a house and servants presented to him by his marriage broker, Goro. When Sharpless, the American Consul in Nagasaki, arrives, Pinkerton tells him he has bought the house for 999 years with the option of canceling the contract any month. The lieutenant will soon marry Cio-Cio-San (known as Madama Butterfly) whom he has purchased for 100 yen. Sharpless advises Pinkerton not to treat her feelings lightly, but the lieutenant responds that he intends no harm and toasts the day he will marry an American wife.

Butterfly and her companions arrive. Questioning by Sharpless reveals she is only fifteen years old. The bride-to-be shows Pinkerton her possessions, which include a dagger, and Goro explains that her father used it to commit suicide at the request of the Mikado. Butterfly tells the lieutenant that she had gone to the mission to convert to his faith. Following the brief wedding ceremony, her uncle-priest, the Bonze, interrupts the celebration and denounces his niece for renouncing her religion. Pinkerton commands the guests to leave. The servant Suzuki helps Butterfly dress for the wedding night and Pinkerton urges his bride to surrender to love.

Intermission

ACT II

Three years have passed since Pinkerton left Nagasaki. Suzuki shows Butterfly the few coins she still possesses and expresses her doubt that the lieutenant will ever return. Ever steadfast, Butterfly believes he will.

The Consul and Goro visit Butterfly. The marriage broker offers a new husband, and Sharpless has a letter from Pinkerton for her. Soon Yamadori, a prince, arrives to propose marriage. Goro reminds Butterfly that under Japanese law her marriage to Pinkerton is void since he has deserted her. She rejects both Yamadori and Goro’s advice. After they leave Sharpless starts reading Pinkerton’s letter, but Butterfly interrupts him. Knowing Pinkerton wishes never to see her again, the Consul urges Butterfly to marry Yamadori. Horrified at his suggestion, she shows him Sorrow, her child by Pinkerton, and Sharpless promises to tell Pinkerton about his son.

Suzuki attacks Goro for spreading rumors and Butterfly threatens his life, expelling him from her home. The port cannon sounds; Butterfly sees Pinkerton’s ship entering the harbor. In anticipation of his return, the women decorate the house with flowers. As night falls, Butterfly, Suzuki, and Sorrow wait for the lieutenant.
 

Intermission
 

ACT III

Dawn breaks, but Pinkerton has not arrived. Butterfly takes Sorrow with her to go to rest. After they leave there is a knock on the door. Suzuki lets Pinkerton and the Consul into the house. The servant sees a woman in the garden, and Sharpless tells her it is Pinkerton’s new wife: the American couple is here to take the child away. Sharpless reprimands Pinkerton for the situation he has created and the remorseful lieutenant leaves.

Having heard people in the house, Butterfly searches for Pinkerton. When she sees the unknown woman, she realizes it is Pinkerton’s wife. Butterfly agrees to surrender her son if Pinkerton himself will claim him in a half hour. Left alone, Butterfly prepares to kill herself, but Suzuki sends Sorrow into the room. The mother bids her son farewell, blindfolds him, and commits suicide.

World Premiere: Teatro alla Scala, Milan February 17, 1904