Flawed casting in Minghella's widescreen Butterfly

By Mark Pullinger, 17 May 2016

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“A combination of Japanese lacquer and Hollywood gloss make for a stylish production”

Reviewed at The London Coliseum, London on 16 May 2016

Puccini, Madama Butterfly

English National Opera

Sir Richard Armstrong, Conductor

Anthony Minghella, Director

Michael Levine, Set Designer

Han Feng, Costume Designer

Rena Harms, Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly)

David Butt Philip, Pinkerton

Stephanie Windsor-Lewis, Suzuki

George von Bergen, Sharpless

Alun Rhys-Jenkins, Goro

Samantha Price, Kate Pinkerton

Matthew Durkan, Prince Yamadori

Mark Richardson, The Bonze

Carolyn Choa, Revival Director

English National Opera Orchestra

English National Opera Chorus

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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.

Flawed casting in Minghella's widescreen Butterfly at ENO