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.