Clattering cherry blossom: ROH Madama Butterfly

By Mark Pullinger, 21 March 2015

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“I can think of no finer actress on the operatic stage than Kristine Opolais”

Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 20 March 2015

Puccini, Madama Butterfly

The Royal Opera

Nicola Luisotti, Conductor

Moshe Leiser, Director

Agostino Cavalca, Costume Designer

Christian Fenouillat, Set Designer

Kristine Opolais, Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly)

Enkelejda Shkoza, Suzuki

Brian Jagde, Pinkerton

Gabriele Viviani, Sharpless

Anush Hovhannisyan, Kate Pinkerton

Carlo Bosi, Goro

Yuriy Yurchuk, Prince Yamadori

Jeremy White, The Bonze

Samuel Dale Johnson, The Imperial Commissioner

Royal Opera Chorus

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Patrice Caurier, Director

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Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.

Clattering cherry blossom: solid revival of Madama Butterfly at Covent Garden