Aleksandra Kurzak emerges as a charismatic Butterfly at the Met

Aleksandra Kurzak (Cio-Cio-San)

Aleksandra Kurzak (Cio-Cio-San) and Davide Luciano (Sharpless)

Madama Butterfly, Act 1

Aleksandra Kurzak (Cio-Cio-San) and Matthew Polenzani (Pinkerton)

Elizabeth DeShong (Suzuki) and Aleksandra Kurzak (Cio-Cio-San)

By Susan Stempleski, 12 January 2024

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“this was Kurzak’s first time taking it on at the Met, and she triumphed”

Reviewed at Lincoln Center: Metropolitan Opera House, New York City on 11 January 2024

Puccini, Madama Butterfly

Metropolitan Opera

Xian Zhang, Conductor

Anthony Minghella, Director

Michael Levine, Set Designer

Han Feng, Costume Designer

Peter Mumford, Lighting Designer

The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra

The Metropolitan Opera Chorus

Carolyn Choa, Revival Director, Choreography

Aleksandra Kurzak, Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly)

Matthew Polenzani, Pinkerton

Davide Luciano, Sharpless

Elizabeth DeShong, Suzuki

Blind Summit Theatre, Puppeteer

Asmik Grigorian strengthens the Met’s revival of Eugene Onegin

Susan Stempleski, 20th April

The Lithuanian soprano’s riveting performance as the central character in Tchaikovsky’s operatic masterpiece lights up Deborah Warner’s mostly bland production.

****1

Innocence: Saariaho’s final opera receives New York premiere

Kurt Gottschalk, 6th April

At the Metropolitan Opera, Innocence proves a gripping and perhaps divisive piece which feels real because it is a reflection of our reality, with no realistic hope of finding peace.

*****

Tristan und Isolde at the Met: staging gets in the way of the music

No’a L. bat Miri, 9th March

Michael Spyres shines in his debut as Tristan alongside powerhouse soprano Lise Davidsen as Isolde in Yuval Sharon's new, beguiling production at the Metropolitan Opera.

***11

Ailyn Pérez is the perfect Butterfly in the Met’s revival

Robert Levine, 13th January

Good Butterflys are not that difficult to come by but great ones are very very rare. Ailyn Pérez fits the bill in this revival of Anthony Minghella’s classic staging.

*****

Vocal thrills in Met’s traditional staging of Bellini’s I puritani

Susan Stempleski, 31st December

Marco Armiliato conducts a finely balanced rendition of Bellini's final masterpiece with a stellar cast headed by Lisette Oropesa and Lawrence Brownlee.

*****

Porgy and Bess returns stronger than ever at the Met

Robert Levine, 7th December

Back to Catfish Row for another revival of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess and James Robinson’s show continue to wow our writer.

*****

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Susan Stempleski

Based in New York City, Susan is a retired specialist in second and foreign language teaching and the author/editor of several professional books for language teachers and many widely used textbooks for English language learners around the world. An avid concertgoer, she spends her time attending operas and other classical music events in New York and Paris. Since 2002, she has regularly published reviews on Classical Source. A keen Francophile, she has a particularly strong interest in French music, literature and film.