In the heartbreaking tale of Madama Butterfly, we first meet American Lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton, a man who seemingly has fallen head over heels in love with the young Japanese girl, Cio-Cio-San of Nagasaki, also known by her nickname, ‘Butterfly’.
In the first act, we are introduced to their new home, a beautifully created Japanese home in the hills. The set design is fantastic, apart from the constant running water which distracts. And the costumes are never to be ignored - stunning antique kimonos were used in the production, and it shows.
Back to the story… Pinkerton declares that this is a short lived marriage, he’ll be returning to America to find a wife there too. Little does Butterfly know, she believes this is true love and is even shunned by her family and friends for embarking on this relationship. After the interval, while we’re waiting with Butterfly to see when Pinkerton will return, we are told that she has an even more important reason to wait for her love - she has borne his son.
As with most operas, there is no happy ending here. Pinkerton has returned to claim his son, wanting him to be separated from his mother, to move to America to be raised by his new American wife. Butterfly, understandably, is distraught. She feels she has no choice but to kill herself.
This opera is presented by award-winning Ellen Kent and the Ukrainian Opera & Ballet Theatre Kyiv. The orchestra performed arguably one of the world’s most famous opera’s wonderfully - sometimes so wonderfully, that we couldn’t hear the singers in fact!
It was a good production but there were elements that didn’t quite hit the mark. It could be because of the location of our seats, but often we couldn’t quite hear the singers on stage. There were issues with the subtitles at one point too, which meant we missed major parts of the opera.
The singer who played Butterfly had a beautiful voice but we noticed she only sang to the audience, rarely singing directly to the person who she was supposed to be directing her words to.
At the end of the production, after a hilarious turn from the audience in which they booed Pinkerton, the orchestra performed the Ukrainian national anthem to a standing ovation.
Although there were elements that could have been done better, overall it was a great performance and there was barely a dry eye in the final scene.