Madama Butterfly is one of Puccini's best, the story is slightly implausible but very powerful and emotionally affecting above all else and the music is some of Puccini's most beautiful. On DVD Madama Butterfly is very well-served with the only near-unwatchable one being the truly outrageous(visually and staging-wise that is) Daniela Dessi production. This Opera Australia production is wonderful and towards the top end in the DVD competition. Other than James Eggleston starting ever so slightly hesitantly in the early half of the first act, there is nothing really to criticise. The high points are the orchestra, conducting and the performance of Hiromi Omura. The orchestra play with beautiful luscious tone, the strings shimmer and glide with no syrupy-ness, the woodwind are tender while providing plenty of full tonal colour, the brass swell to tremendous effect when used and the percussion bring foreboding while not interrupting the music's delicacy. The conducting is accommodating to every single one of the performers but gives the music and drama pace, the poetry of the score really comes through but at the same time nothing is over-sentimentalised, giving the nature of the music like with La Boheme that is easy to do.
Omura is just outstanding in the title role. Her voice is of gleaming beauty throughout, it is also a powerful voice while embracing a great amount of delicacy as well, her soft singing is heavenly. Omura has a poignant and graceful stage presence while also giving Cio Cio San/Madama Butterfly maturity in the latter half of the opera, she has the extra advantage of looking both child-like and mature. James Eggleston is a worthy partner in her, once he warms up to his character(a difficult one to play because Pinkerton is one of the most dislikeable tenor roles in all opera) he is very engaging, making Pinkerton charming and selfish, you hate Pinkerton but Eggleston doesn't make him one-dimensional either. His singing is masculine and warm too but with little strain at the top. Sian Pendry is a sympathetic Suzuki and she does induce a few tears later on in the production, her rapport with Omura is among the production's highlights and Pendry does that with much warmth. Her voice is very rich and her voice is much better suited to Suzuki than it is to Cherubino.
Barry Ryan sings with a firm baritone, and is appropriately business-like and caring as Sharpless. Jud Arthur is a very intimidating Bonze, a performance that couldn't be more different than his noble and tear-inducing Timur in the excellent Opera Australia production of Turandot. Graeme McFarlane is an oily Goro with a touch of mystery about him and Samuel Dundas is solid as Prince Yamadori. Nicole Carr portrays Kate with understated elegance, a role that is crucial but quite small and not always memorably played(apart from a notable exception with in the Fiorenza Cedolins production where the Kate was so terrible she stood out like a sore thumb). The chorus just as in Turandot and La Boheme(also from Opera Australia, and it was pretty good too) are first rate, particularly great in the divine Humming Chorus.
Visually, the production takes a minimalist approach, rather than the sumptuousness seen with Frano Zeffirelli and Jean Pierre Ponnelle(that's not to be taken as a bad thing because it's not), and it comes off well. This is not the first Madama Butterfly to go minimalist but is one of the most successful at doing so. But the rest of the production values are interesting as well, the costumes are elegant and appropriate to the characters and period(at least the performers don't look like oversized insects like the Daniela Dessi production did) and there is a lot of rich colour. None of it is sparse, none of it is garish and none of it is dull-looking, instead everything is elegant in its simplicity. The staging is very thoughtfully done, not trivialising the story in any way and instead the emotion of the story is enhanced. Nothing comes across as static, nor does it come across as overblown or distasteful, it's very simple and intimate and allows the story and music to speak. The touch that came off as most effective was the whole relationship between Cio Cio San and Suzuki which comes across as very trusting and affectionate. This couldn't have been more apparent in the Flower Duet, which showed Omura and Pendry showing great care in blending with one another. What also came off effectively was with Sharpless in how he seemed to care for Cio Cio San and how he struggled to tell her that Pinkerton had remarried. The final scene is heart-rending and it was very movingly done here, coupled with the music, Omura's singing and acting and the adorable child actor.
All in all, a wonderful Opera Australia production of an operatic masterpiece. 9/10 Bethany Cox
Omura is just outstanding in the title role. Her voice is of gleaming beauty throughout, it is also a powerful voice while embracing a great amount of delicacy as well, her soft singing is heavenly. Omura has a poignant and graceful stage presence while also giving Cio Cio San/Madama Butterfly maturity in the latter half of the opera, she has the extra advantage of looking both child-like and mature. James Eggleston is a worthy partner in her, once he warms up to his character(a difficult one to play because Pinkerton is one of the most dislikeable tenor roles in all opera) he is very engaging, making Pinkerton charming and selfish, you hate Pinkerton but Eggleston doesn't make him one-dimensional either. His singing is masculine and warm too but with little strain at the top. Sian Pendry is a sympathetic Suzuki and she does induce a few tears later on in the production, her rapport with Omura is among the production's highlights and Pendry does that with much warmth. Her voice is very rich and her voice is much better suited to Suzuki than it is to Cherubino.
Barry Ryan sings with a firm baritone, and is appropriately business-like and caring as Sharpless. Jud Arthur is a very intimidating Bonze, a performance that couldn't be more different than his noble and tear-inducing Timur in the excellent Opera Australia production of Turandot. Graeme McFarlane is an oily Goro with a touch of mystery about him and Samuel Dundas is solid as Prince Yamadori. Nicole Carr portrays Kate with understated elegance, a role that is crucial but quite small and not always memorably played(apart from a notable exception with in the Fiorenza Cedolins production where the Kate was so terrible she stood out like a sore thumb). The chorus just as in Turandot and La Boheme(also from Opera Australia, and it was pretty good too) are first rate, particularly great in the divine Humming Chorus.
Visually, the production takes a minimalist approach, rather than the sumptuousness seen with Frano Zeffirelli and Jean Pierre Ponnelle(that's not to be taken as a bad thing because it's not), and it comes off well. This is not the first Madama Butterfly to go minimalist but is one of the most successful at doing so. But the rest of the production values are interesting as well, the costumes are elegant and appropriate to the characters and period(at least the performers don't look like oversized insects like the Daniela Dessi production did) and there is a lot of rich colour. None of it is sparse, none of it is garish and none of it is dull-looking, instead everything is elegant in its simplicity. The staging is very thoughtfully done, not trivialising the story in any way and instead the emotion of the story is enhanced. Nothing comes across as static, nor does it come across as overblown or distasteful, it's very simple and intimate and allows the story and music to speak. The touch that came off as most effective was the whole relationship between Cio Cio San and Suzuki which comes across as very trusting and affectionate. This couldn't have been more apparent in the Flower Duet, which showed Omura and Pendry showing great care in blending with one another. What also came off effectively was with Sharpless in how he seemed to care for Cio Cio San and how he struggled to tell her that Pinkerton had remarried. The final scene is heart-rending and it was very movingly done here, coupled with the music, Omura's singing and acting and the adorable child actor.
All in all, a wonderful Opera Australia production of an operatic masterpiece. 9/10 Bethany Cox
