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2005.6
Madama Butterfly |
Music by Giacomo Puccini (1904)
Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa / Luigi Illica
OPERA HOUSE
6 performances
June 24(Fri)6:30pm, 27(Mon)6:30pm, 30(Thu)7:00pm, July 3(Sun)3:00pm,
6(Wed)2:00pm, 9(Sat)3:00pm 2005
Approximate running time: 2 hours, 40 minutes with 1 intermission |
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Conductor: Renato Palumbo
Director: Kuriyama Tamiya
Scenery Design: Shima Jiro
Costume Design: Maeda Ayako *
Lighting Design: Katsushiba Jiro
<MAIN CAST>
Madama Butterfly: Omura Hiromi
Pinkerton: Hugh Smith
Sharpless: Claudio Otelli **
Suzuki: Nakasugi Tomoko
*The costume designer has been changed to Maeda Ayako from
Wada Emi.
Please refer to New
National Theatre News.
**William Shimell, who was originally to perform the role
of Sharpless, is unable to perform.
Alternatively, Claudio Otelli is taking his place.
Please refer to New
National Theatre News. |
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| Background |
| Madama Butterfly is one of the three greatest masterpieces
by Giacomo Puccini, a maestro of Italian opera. Its beautiful music
and dramatic plot are loved by all people the world over from first-time
opera goers to enthusiastic opera aficionados. In particular, since
the melodies of Sakura Sakura, Echigo Jishi and
other traditional Japanese pieces of music, as well as folksongs are
scattered throughout the work, this famous opera fascinates the Japanese
audience in a slightly different way from other operas. It is based
on the American writer J.L. Long’s best-selling novel Madame
Butterfly. The dramatist David Belasco adapted this novel for
a play, first performed in the United States and achieving great success.
The adaptation of this drama for the opera was realized because Puccini,
who was visiting the United Kingdom to attend the London premiere
of Tosca, saw a performance of the play in the city and found
himself moved even though he could not understand English. The opera
contributed greatly to Japanese soprano singers finding their way
into Western operatic circles because the title role is that of a
Japanese. Many Japanese singers, including Miura Tamaki, a postwar
international prima donna, as well as Nagato Miho, Hayashi Yasuko,
Watanabe Yoko and Matsumoto Miwako, made their debut overseas as Cio-Cio-San
together with other distinguished soprano singers from other countries,
subsequently widening the range of roles in their operatic repertoires.
This is the NNTT’s second new production of the opera following
its 1998 NNTT premiere directed by Kuriyama Masayoshi. The director
will be Kuriyama Tamiya, who has an established reputation for his
orthodox and persuasive direction of many dramatic works. The conductor
will be R. Palumbo, who excels in Italian opera. The attention-arresting
title role will be sung by Omura Hiromi, who studied in France before
coming into sudden prominence with her successful debut in Japan in
2002. |
| Synopsis |
| The curtain rises on the top of a hill overlooking the Bay of Nagasaki
around the Meiji period. The American naval officer Pinkerton marries
the 15-year-old geisha Cio-Cio-San with the help of the marriage broker
Goro. She is pure in heart, but Pinkerton is not serious and intends
to be married to her only while he is temporarily stationed in Japan.
He is reproached by Sharpless, the American consul in Nagasaki, for
his lack of sincerity. Before long, Pinkerton returns home. Cio-Cio-San,
together with her servant Suzuki and her three-year-old boy by Pinkerton,
awaits Pinkerton’s return. Believing that he will surely return
on a fine day and dreaming that such a day will come, she pays no
attention to Goro when he recommends a new marriage partner. Sharpless,
meanwhile, learns that Pinkerton has officially gotten married in
the United States but cannot bring himself to tell that fact to Cio-Cio-San,
who firmly believes in Pinkerton. And the fateful moment comes. Arriving
in Nagasaki accompanied by his wife Kate, Pinkerton hears that Cio-Cio-San
has awaited his return and, suddenly filled with guilt, is not able
to face her. Having realized the truth, Cio-Cio-San decides to hand
over her son to Kate and then kills herself with the sword she has
kept as a keepsake of her father. |
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<Conductor> |
<Director> |
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Renato Palumbo |
Kuriyama Tamiya |
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| <Main Cast> |
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| Omura Hiromi |
Hugh Smith |
Claudio Otelli |
Nakasugi Tomoko |
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