Madama Butterfly, Giacomo Puccini's acclaimed drama from 1904, opens the season at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen (OBV). It is a tragedy in which the audience, in a Hitchcockian twist, has a view of the bomb from the very beginning. Under the baton of conductor Daniela Candillari, OBV brings a deep reflection on the past, present, and future – with their own twist.
In the moment
"Oh! the sweet fragrance / of these flowers, / flows poisonously to my heart;" with these words, Pinkerton (tenor Ovidiu Purcel) laments the consequences of his actions. The story is simple: Pinkerton marries a Japanese woman, with no intention of staying with her. Is it love, is it lust, is it both? The power, and tragedy, of Madama Butterfly is how realistic the situation truly is. Human relationships are a mess, and sometimes one person has different intentions than the other. For Cio-Cio-San (Butterfly; soprano Celine Byrne) it's clear from the start that this marks the end of her innocence – and her life.
Yet, the story also reflects on the importance of the small moments – or lies – that made an individual happy. Is this a correct reflection? Who knows. Madama Butterfly is ultimately also plagued by the historical context of war and colonization. The status quo between American naval officer Pinkerton and the charming, yet poor, Butterfly is unbalanced from the very beginning. Add poor communication and misguided intentions to that… it could only end badly.
Now, as it turns out, Butterfly – who rejects her family and religion and won't listen to anyone – is not so innocent either. Nobody wins in this relationship. All of this makes Madama Butterfly a deeply tragic, yet realistic opera.
Butterfly versus Maiko
OBV decides to use a fictional story – about the suicide of director Maiko Nakamura – Madama Butterfly to hold up a mirror regarding (lost) identity. Butterfly, in the opera, rejects her own family and religion to complete herself with Pinkerton, to see herself as American. Maiko – who struggles throughout her life with the different deaths in her past, and her move from Japan to Europe – seemingly cannot bear the conflict, during the production, concerning her own identity.
Madama Butterfly – a product of exoticism through a Western lens – has always been, for me, an opera with a caveat. By placing it in line with this narrative, OBV seems to create space for what the psychological narrative can mean, and thus give less attention to the folkloric stereotypes that Madama Butterfly pursue. I myself am deeply grateful for this new perspective. Identity, and the search for it, is something we all share. The set was extremely Japanese-inspired: the use of negative space, Japanese Avant-garde-like costuming – it is Madama Butterfly in 2024, without exoticism.
Then there's the execution. I can only speak glowingly about it. I may have even told Purcel that he was so convincing as Pinkerton that I felt like throwing a shoe at him – what a monster (of a character), but what a powerful and convincing performance. Byrne particularly impressed me with how quickly she could jump between an extremely pure vocal quality, then bringing into her voice a kind of speech dynamic that spoke of character. A touch of verismo in Puccini. Mezzo-soprano Lotte Verstaen, as Suzuki, was the ideal counterbalance to Byrne. The Duetto dei foiri – the moment when Butterfly, in full love, has Suzuki, who has a somewhat more realistic view of the situation, strip the garden bare – was for me a "yes" moment. As in "yes, the combination of these two voices, it works." Verstaen has a rich and powerful lower register – something that star mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne has always been known for in this repertoire – and this beautifully contrasts with the more velvety tone of Byrne. This cast was a total combination that certainly deserves all the praise.
OBV's Madama Butterfly shines. This is because it's not just another reinterpretation of yet another exotic romance, but a reflection on the here and now. It gives us thoughts in which we can recognize ourselves. And this, for me, is what opera in 2024 should be.
