LA Opera: The Scream of the Butterfly

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.

To quickly summarize, an American naval captain named Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton (Stefano Secco) procures a little house and a young bride (15-year-old Cio-Cio-San, sung by Ana María Martínez). For him, it’s a trifle, a diversion, until he finds a real American life; for her it’s true love and eternal commitment. For everyone else it’s a culture clash that will end in pain and disaster.

Although the set is somewhat traditional (an open-air Japanese home with shoji screens and a veranda), Puissant’s set is simple with clean, clear lines, a row of lanterns and cherry trees in the first act and then a creative touch for the second and third acts with the cherry trees replaced by telegraph poles to indicate the modernization (and it was swift) of Japan during the early twentieth century.

Fisher’s lighting, with its golden lanterns, orange sun and blue sky symbolizing the promise of a happy outcome, turns grey after intermission, while Cio-Cio-San awaits her husband who has been gone for three years.

The story doesn’t change from production to production, of course, but the singers do, and they can enhance our appreciation of this melodrama or they can keep us at bay. The present cast has talented singers, although I would single out Milena Kitic as Suzuki, Butterfly’s maid, and Kihun Yoon as the American consul, Sharpless. These are the opera’s supporting characters, but they’re no less vital than the leads.

Speaking of which, Ana María Martínez has a fine voice, but for me it’s a little too rich and mature. That’s a sort of tricky opinion, because although Cio-Cio-San is a mere teenager there just aren’t any high school-aged sopranos who can deliver what the role demands. Martínez herself is 44 and thus well into middle age. I needed to hear some youthfulness in her voice so that I could exercise my suspension of disbelief. Even so, her physical appearance doesn’t mesh with the character, despite the fact that we’re supposed to overlook such things.

Secco, too, as the officer, leaves a bit to be desired, although he sings decently and rises to the occasion when needed. The other principals include Keith Jameson as Goro, the matchmaker, Nicholas Brownlee as the Bonze (the angry uncle), and Daniel Armstrong as Yamadori, the suitor. Lacey Jo Benter is the embarrassed new Mrs. Pinkerton, and the part of the boy (named Sorrow, and for good reason) is shared by Nicholas Cuenca Terry and Michael Alspaugh. Fans of Long Beach Opera will be pleased to know that Danielle Marcelle Bond has the role, albeit a tiny one, of the Aunt.

“Madame Butterfly” is always a heartbreaker, no matter who’s on stage, and that’s why it pops up every season or two. It’s impossible to be indifferent to Cio-Cio San’s optimism and then her letdown, and even hardened criminals probably pass around boxes of kleenex when watching this opera.

I should point out that those wanting an up-close look at Ana María Martínez in the title role don’t necessarily have to make the trek downtown. What about New York instead? The Metropolitan Opera House projects their version into local AMC movie theaters on Saturday morning, April 2, with an encore (repeat) screening on Wednesday evening, April 6.

Madame Butterfly: Of course there’s nothing like seeing this or any opera live, and there are two more performances, on Thursday, March 31, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, April 3, at 2 p.m., in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown Los Angeles in the Music Center. Tickets currently from $134 to $369. Call (213) 972-8001 or go to laopera.org. ER

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