The Opéra Royal de Wallonie opens the season with one of the most popular works in operatic literature: Madame Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini. That it is one of the favorite operas of conductor Speranza Scappucci became more than clear from her musical approach. The direction by intendant Stefano Mazzonis di Pralafera delivered a clear and moving story in a refined setting.

With his opera, Puccini taps into the fascination with the exotic that permeated the art and music world at the end of the 19th century. As in his previous operas – Manon Lescaut, La Bohème and Tosca – Puccini also wanted to pay special attention to the specific color and atmosphere of the action. We can hardly speak of authentic Japanese music. Yet Puccini succeeded in giving his music a subtle Oriental sound, partly through the use of certain instruments (gong and piccolo – played here by one of the percussionists) or glissandi in the harp and strings. In this way, Puccini places Madame Butterfly between two worlds: her own pentatonic world and that of traditional Western harmony. The two worlds between which the protagonist lives emotionally.

Clash of Cultures

Di Pralafera's direction plays entirely into these two worlds, which blend together but ultimately stand in opposition to each other in the tragedy of the opera. He sets the piece in post-World War II Japan. The set shows a simple dwelling that mingles Western elements with Japanese decoration and a small Japanese garden with a Buddha statue. The Japanese element is especially evident in the beautiful kimonos of the ladies: each one a handcrafted artwork created by the workshops of the Opéra de Wallonie. The chorus can show them off beautifully during the wedding ceremony of Cio Cio San and Pinkerton. Moreover, it seems as though they have learned to walk with small refined steps like Japanese ladies. It fits perfectly with Puccini's detailed sound world.

The individual drama of Cio Cio San is framed within the clash of cultures in the opera. Cio Cio San represents the type of solitary Japanese woman who suffers and dies from her overwhelming emotional involvement in a relationship that goes far beyond her previous life as a geisha. In the first act, the tense relationship between the traditional society from which Cio Cio San escapes through her marriage to the American lieutenant is sharply depicted on the limited space of the dwelling where the entire community gathers and reproaches Cio Cio San. The threatening appearance of Bonzo in particular creates unrest. In the second act, small details in the living room allude to the bond with the American man—a photograph of her husband Pinkerton and some American flags on the wall. From that act onward, Cio Cio San also dresses as a modern Western woman instead of wearing a kimono. Svetlana Aksenova performs beautifully how painfully Cio Cio San continues to believe in the power of love, until she must face the fatal truth and draw her personal consequences from it. Her high soprano not only masters the demanding vocal lines of the role, but also gives them an increasingly dramatic and moving power. A beautiful, convincing performance.

The set is constructed so that guests – such as the matchmaker Yamadori – can infiltrate from the rear of the dwelling and through the garden. There is a sort of deck on the flat roof where in the third act the helicopter can land with Pinkerton and his wife, accompanied by Sharpless. That bizarre aircraft is certainly a rather absurd strange object in the production and actually the only thing that stands out from the traditional but efficient staging. The ending, as Cio Cio San commits suicide (offstage) and Pinkerton and his wife take the child with them, provides a surprising turn in the direction. Di Pralafera chose to present the child still as a baby in a carriage, not as a three-year-old child. When Kate Pinkerton tries to take the child out of the carriage, apparently there are only rags and blankets inside … Does di Pralafera suggest that the child is no longer there? Did Cio Cio San take the child with her into death? A thought-provoking directorial interpretation. But certainly acceptable within the emotional context of the piece and the tragedy of Cio Cio San as wife and mother.

Musical and Scenic Emotion

Besides the lead role of Cio Cio San, the other characters are also well cast. Sabina Willeit is a beautiful Suzuki who brings tenderness and concern to her soft mezzo voice. Pinkerton sometimes had a somewhat harsh, less pleasant tenor sound. But that perhaps suited his character as a somewhat indifferent lover who tries to deny his feelings for Cio Cio San. Sharpless was performed by Mario Cassi, who vocally succeeded in expressing both his compassion for the abandoned lover and his loyalty to Pinkerton. The colorful softness in his voice helped him succeed in the difficult task.

Conductor Speranza Scappucci simply astounded in this challenging and rich Puccini score. With measured and very differentiated gestures, she succeeded in drawing out the refinement of the score, the Oriental hues, and the drama from the orchestra. She created some truly spine-tingling moments, the end of the second act for example. It was clear that the orchestra of the Opéra de Wallonie holds her in high regard and is willing to go the extra mile for her. Rarely have we seen the musicians follow the conductor's directions with such attentiveness. Last season she had already impressed us with her performance of Bellini's I PuritaniThis Madame Butterfly confirms that Scappucci is an excellent choice to inspire the Liège opera orchestra. A beautiful production that transforms Puccini's opera into an emotional experience.

• WHAT: Madame Butterfly – Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
• DIRECTION: Stefano Mazzonis di Pralafera
• CAST: Svetlana Aksandova, Alexey Dolgov, Mario Cassi, Sabina Willeit, Alexise Yerna, Patrick Delcour
• ORCHESTRA: Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera of Wallonia conducted by Speranza Scappucci
• WHERE: Royal Opera of Wallonia, Liège
• WHEN: Sunday, September 15, 2019 (performances continuing through September 28, 2019)
• PHOTO: © Royal Opera of Wallonia-Liège