Madama Butterfly

Operahuset Nordfjord.

Spent a night at 'Madama Butterfly' with Den Norske Opera & Ballett. It's a beautiful opera house. Cosy. The main auditorium seats about 1300 people. It's been a long time since I last watched a version of this opera. Imho, it's got the most-hated storyline among all classical operas. I still have a serious dislike for it. (And an opera is kinda like the classical version of a musical. Bit draining to listen to a show that sings all the way. But choral singing, okay. I'll live.) With age, I've learnt to concentrate on the singing and check out the creativity with direction of the opera, costumes, stage sets and lighting.

Directed by Stephen Langridge, and conducted by John Helmer Fiore, musical director of the Den Norske Opera & Ballett, the main roles of and Cio-Cio-san (Butterfly) and Pinkerton were respectively filled by Hui He (和慧) and Ricardo Massi. The Norwegian Operakoret and the Operaorkestret formed the rest of the line-up. The costumes were utilitarian rather than gloriously extravagant, quite opposed to what one would expect of a wedding kimono. Sure, the focus was on the singing, less of the acting and the frills I suppose. Hui He was wonderful. Such power in her voice. This Pinkerton could have been more hateful. Rather, he was almost wimpy. Well, he is a wimp.

I was quite stunned by the interpretation of Cio-Cio-san's child, Sorrow. There was a silent human ghosting around in Act 1, played by actor Randolf Walderhaug. While we had our suspicions by the time intermission came, we couldn't be certain who he was till Act 2. He played the role of the child. And this actor is a 56-year-old adult. It completely creeped me out! Apparently, the Den Norske Opera & Ballett has this thing for staging Puccini operas as flashbacks or dreams. They staged 'Madama Butterfly' in 2012 like that with the same costumes in the same color combination, but in 2014, swopped out the soprano and tenor leads. Okayyy. Quite a refreshing production. The Operaorkestret was excellent in its cadences, playing beautifully to the rise and fall of the moods.

Hui He as 'Cio-Cio-san' in Den Norske Opera & Ballett's 2014 production.
(Image from Den Norske Opera & Ballett.)