LA Opera: The Scream of the Butterfly
Milena Kitic as Suzuki. Photo by Ken Howard for LA Opera LA Opera’s “Madame Butterfly” (a review) Sometimes we go to experience an opera we’ve never seen before, and at other times we go because it’s a work we’ve seen many times and are familiar with the libretto and score. In the latter case it’s not so much the novelty as it is the nuances that can differ from performance to performance and certainly from production to production. Which brings us to LA Opera’s current, and now tenth, presentation of “Madame Butterfly,” and its fifth production. I’ve seen quite a few of them, and Catherine Malfitano remains my favorite Cio-Cio-San (this being the fragile heroine of the piece). This production was designed for and created by the Santa Fe Opera. Lee Blakely is the director, Jean-Marc Puissant designed the set, and Rick Fisher conceived the lighting effects. On the homefront, James Conlon conducts with his masterly touch and the chorus is in the always capable hands of Grant Gershon. The time is 1904 and the place is Nagasaki overlooking the harbor. It may seem quaint now, but let’s remember that Puccini’s opera actually premiered in 1904. Ana María Martínez (kneeling) as…
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