| Puccini, Giacomo (1858-1924) | Madama Butterfly | Libretto by Luigi Illica, Giuseppe Giacosa |
| Opéra national de Paris | ||
| Speranza Scappucci | Conductor | |
| Robert Wilson | Director, Set Designer, Lighting Designer | |
| Frida Parmeggiani | Costume Designer | |
| Orchestre de l'Opéra national de Paris | ||
| Suzushi Hanayagi | Choreography | |
| Eleonora Buratto | Soprano | Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly) |
| Stefan Pop | Tenor | Pinkerton |
| Christopher Maltman | Baritone | Sharpless |
| Aude Extrémo | Mezzo-soprano | Suzuki |
| Carlo Bosi | Tenor | Goro |
| Vartan Gabrielian | Bass-baritone | The Bonze |
| Andres Cascante | Baritone | Prince Yamadori |
| Sofia Anisimova | Mezzo-soprano | Kate Pinkerton |
| Bernard Arrieta | Baritone | The Imperial Commissioner |
| Hyunsik Zee | Tenor | The Official Registrar |
| Young Woo Kim | Tenor | Yakuside |
| Marianne Chandelier | Mezzo-soprano | Cio-Cio-san's mother |
| Liliana Faraon | Soprano | The aunt |
| Stéphanie Loris | Mezzo-soprano | The cousin |
Poor Madame Butterfly! The 15-year-old geisha, who has renounced her family and Japanese traditions for the love of an American naval officer, finds herself abandoned in favour of a Western wife. Giacomo Puccini used this classic theme of a woman seduced and abandoned to create an opera with lush orchestration and burning lyricism.
Premiered in 1904 at La Scala Milan, his score, full of oriental colours, vividly conveys the contrast between Lieutenant Pinkerton’s brutality and the vulnerability of Butterfly, who is as fragile as a butterfly’s wings.
For Robert Wilson, this Japanese tragedy proves the ideal environment in which to display his signature formalism. Far from the traditional fans and cherry branches, the director uses stylised acting and a stripped-down space to allow the melodic lines to blossom in all their purity.
Reviews of Madama Butterfly directed by Robert Wilson
