programme & tickets programme

Madama Butterfly

Giacomo Puccini
Tragedia giapponese in three acts
Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica
In Italian with German and English surtitles
Events and Tickets
Close-up of a young Asian woman in warm, cinematic lighting. With long black hair and straight bangs, she gazes thoughtfully to the side in half profile. Her face is softly illuminated, while her red lips provide a striking accent. She wears a light-colored garment. Delicate branches with white blossoms frame her face, and a red flower adds contrast. The blurred background enhances the quiet, melancholic, and poetic mood. Inspired by Cio-Cio-San from Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.
Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini © Teresa Rothwangl
Abstract mood image for the opera Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini: Softly blurred fields of color in warm beige and rosé tones in the upper area transition seamlessly into cool shades of blue and grey in the lower area. The hazy, dreamlike visual effect creates a calm, melancholic, and atmospheric mood without clearly discernible forms or figures.
Tragedia giapponese in three acts
Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica
In Italian with German and English surtitles
Events and Tickets

Description

A Japanese girl, a great love, and a promise that rests on fragile ground from the very beginning. Cio-Cio-San, known as Butterfly, marries the American naval officer Pinkerton. But while he regards the marriage as a temporary exotic adventure, she firmly believes in his love. After Pinkerton returns to the United States, Butterfly waits for him for years – until he eventually travels back to Japan with his American wife to take custody of their child …

The ‘Japanese tragedy’ is based on a play by David Belasco, which the composer attended in London in 1900. Although Giacomo Puccini did not understand English and never visited Japan himself, he was deeply moved by the material that he immediately decided to set it to music. The story may even have been inspired by real events.

For the libretto, Puccini enlisted his trusted collaborators Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, who shaped the text entirely in line with his vision. MADAMA BUTTERFLY remained particularly close to Puccini’s heart throughout his life; he often described it as his finest and most modern work.

Indeed, in this opera Puccini’s art of musical detail reaches its peak. With extraordinary sensitivity, he combines exotic elements with his unmistakably sensual musical language, creating an almost naturalistic sound that vividly brings the unfamiliar setting to life.

The world premiere on 17 February 1904 at La Scala in Milan initially turned into a spectacular failure. But Puccini did not give up: he revised the work in four further versions. In its final form, MADAMA BUTTERFLY went on to become one of the most successful and frequently performed operas in the world.

In her interpretation, director Sabine Hartmannshenn presents a psychologically incisive portrait of Cio-Cio-San, unflinchingly exposing the timeless themes of love, power, and cultural misunderstanding.

cast

Cio-Cio-San

Suzuki

Kate Pinkerton

Pinkerton

Sharpless

Goro

Fürst Yamadori

Onkel Bonze

Yakusidé

Der kaiserliche Kommissar

Der Standesbeamte

Mutter

Cousine

Tante

Chor

Orchester

Please refer to the respective event listings for the current cast.

Events and Tickets

to the production

benefit from our subscription offers

explore

Con onor muore chi non può serbar vita con onore.

en.: He who cannot live with honor must die with honor. – Cio-Cio-San
Supported by jeweler Gadebusch