Tears of blood among the cherry blossoms

By Mark Pullinger, 08 December 2016

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“cherry trees dripping with gorgeous pink blossom which tumbled to the ground”

Reviewed at Teatro alla Scala, Milan on 7 December 2016

Puccini, Madama Butterfly (Original 1904 version)

Teatro alla Scala

Riccardo Chailly, Conductor

Alvis Hermanis, Director

Leila Fteita, Set Designer

Kristīne Jurjāne, Costume Designer

María José Siri, Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly)

Bryan Hymel, Pinkerton

Carlos Álvarez, Sharpless

Annalisa Stroppa, Suzuki

Costantino Finucci, Prince Yamadori

Carlo Bosi, Goro

Nicole Brandolino, Kate Pinkerton

Abramo Rosalen, The Bonze

Leonardo Galeazzi, Yakuside

Gabriele Sagona, The Imperial Commissioner

Romano Dal Zovo, The Official Registrar

Coro del Teatro alla Scala

Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala

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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.

Tears of blood among the cherry blossoms: La Scala make amends with a return to Puccini's original Madama Butterfly