Trying to rethink Madama Butterfly at Seattle Opera

By Thomas May, 06 August 2017

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“a Cio-Cio-San of genuine star quality”

Reviewed at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, Seattle on 5 August 2017

Puccini, Madama Butterfly

Seattle Opera

Carlo Montanaro, Conductor

Kate Cherry, Director

Christina Smith, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Lianna Haroutounian, Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly)

Alexey Dolgov, Pinkerton

Weston Hurt, Sharpless

Renée Rapier, Suzuki

Daniel Sumegi, The Bonze

Ryan Bede, Prince Yamadori

Rodell Rosel, Goro

Sarah Mattox, Kate Pinkerton

Sasha Cooke brings sharp intelligence to Seattle Opera’s Carmen

Thomas May, 8th May

Sasha Cooke’s thoughtful role debut anchors Paul Curran’s visually and musically alert but dramatically uneven production.

****1

A rite of spring turned inward: Strauss’ Daphne at Seattle Opera

Thomas May, 16th January

Presented without staging, Seattle Opera’s concert Daphne places Strauss’ extreme vocal demands and saturated orchestral writing in sharp relief, offering a high-risk encounter with a rarely heard late opera.

****1

Mozart meets Vaudeville in Seattle's silent movie Magic Flute

Erica Miner, 22nd February

Eye-popping, hand-drawn animation melds with Mozart's fantastical world and the silent film era to create a colorful and energetic new-to-Seattle production.

***11

African American spirituals ring out in world premiere of Jubilee

Erica Miner, 12th October

A world premiere opera about the Fisk Jubilee Singers, the intrepid troupe of African American singers who changed music history.

*****

Alcina in Seattle: captivating, flirtatious, sometimes weird

Rosie Rogers, 25th October

Thoughtful cuts, an extremely skillful orchestra and active, inventive staging made this sexy dark comedy engrossing and highly watchable.

*****

Frederick Ballentine’s Loge shines in Das Rheingold

Rosie Rogers, 12th August

Despite some confused visual elements, an excellent musical performance makes Seattle Opera's production well worth watching.

****1

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Thomas May

Thomas May is a writer and translator based in Seattle. His books include Decoding Wagner and The John Adams Reader, and he blogs about the arts at memeteria.com. He has written for The Washington Post, Gramophone, Listen, Symphony magazine, OPERA America, crosscut.com, and many other publications.