MADAMA BUTTERFLY Photo Shoot

One of my favorite things about this internship so far is that I get to watch the professional publicity photo shoots. This is a great opportunity for me because I'm a photographer myself, so I really enjoy watching professionals work. On Tuesday, photographer Kira Horvath came to Central City for the Madama Butterfly photo shoot. Yunah Lee (Butterfly) and Chad Shelton (Pinkerton) showed up in costume and brought their good looks and acting skills to the shoot. I just brought my camera.

Marc Shulgold’s Fun Facts on MADAMA BUTTERFLY

Marc Shulgold, former music critic of the Rocky Mountain News has put together some fun facts for us on Madama Butterfly. Marc has contirbuted to numerous national music publications and is a popular pre-concert speaker at programs by the Colorado Symphony and others.

• The opera is based on the play Madame Butterfly by David Belasco, an American who authored The Girl of the Golden West, later to become another Puccini opera. While in London in 1900, Puccini saw Belasco's Butterfly and was immediately inspired. The play had been adapted from a short novel by Philadelphia lawyer John Luther Long – though another possible source is Pierre Loti's popular novel, Madame Chrysanthème. In any case, the plot stems from a tale that seems to be based in fact. Long's sister, Jennie, was married to an Episcopal missionary who worked in Japan. Years after the opera's premiere, Jennie gave talks that recalled the sad tale of a young neighbor, a Japanese tea-house girl named Cho-San (Miss Butterfly) who was wooed by an American sailor, became “a temporary wife,” bore him a child, and was subsequently abandoned by him.

• In November, 1900, as Puccini awaited the arrival of Belasco's play, he shared with his publisher Giulio Ricordi his anticipation at composing the opera, revealing an interesting concept, later discarded: “I think instead of one act I could make two quite long ones: the first in North America and the second in Japan.”

• Puccini took great pains to bring authenticity to his score, researching traditional Japanese melodies and importing recordings of music from that country as he worked in Italy. He gained valuable information from a Mrs. Oyama, the wife of the Japanese ambassador to Rome, who often sang to the composer songs of her homeland . The score includes at least 10 traditional melodies, including the Japanese national anthem, Kimi ga yo, heard during the wedding of Cio-Cio San and Pinkerton.

• Besides the familiar aria, “Un bel di” (One Fine Day), the most recognizable tune in the opera is “The Star-Spangled Banner,” quoted in the opening act as Pinkerton and Sharpless drink a toast to America. Back then, the music was familiar as the U.S. Navy anthem – it did not become our National Anthem until 1931.

• In 1984, Malcom McLaren, an English rock impresario who founded the notorious band the Sex Pistols, released his techno record, Madame Butterfly. It boldly blended a driving disco beat, snippets of the Puccini aria, “Un bel di,” a narrative spoken by a Southern-accented Pinkerton and a vocal sung by Cio-Cio San. McLaren died earlier this year. This link includes the audio track and lyrics.

Above Right: Yunah Lee in Central City Opera's MADAMA BUTTERFLY (2010). Photo by Kira Horvath.

MADAMA BUTTERFLY Begins Staging

It's official - rehearsals have started for Madama Butterfly! The crew was up at dawn on Wednesday morning to move the set from backstage to the Foundry rehearsal hall.

They seemed to be having a pretty good time.

I got the chance to sit in on the first staging rehearsal later that day, and that was a pretty good time as well. Director Catherine Malfitano* expressed her enthusiasm for the project to the cast, stressing the "joyous experience" of the 2005 production. She made sure to mention that this show wasn't just an opportunity to "replicate another Butterfly," but also a chance to make changes and "show [the audience] the complexity of these characters." It was super exciting to hear her speak and to watch the artists get up on their feet for the first time. I won't give any staging secrets away, but I will say that the two hours of rehearsal I got to watch psyched me up for the show. I'm getting excited for the festival! I hope you are, too.

*View Catherine Malfitano's Director's Notes for Madama Butterfly