Sydney Opera House Opera Theater. Seat Stall B30.
Conductor – Andrea Licata; Madama Butterfly – Elena Prokina; B. F. Pinkerton – Rosario La Spina; Suzuki – Sally-Anne Russell; Sharpless – John Pringle; Goro – Graeme Macfarlane.
Story: Cio-Cio San (Butterfly) marries B. F. Pinkerton, a U.S. naval officer. Butterfly takes her vows seriously and patiently awaits Pinkerton’s return with her son and her servant Suzuki. When he returns 3 years later, he brings with him his new wife from America. Butterfly commits suicide so her child can be brought to the U.S. to be cared for by Pinkerton.
This is the second time I saw Madama Butterfly in Sydney. While the sets remain by-and-large the same, the stage acting was quite different. Most productions have Butterfly committing suicide off stage, but this one had her doing the sad deed front and center. They didn’t bother to use artificial blood though.
Athough the story is admittedly over-the-top melodramatic, I have to say I really enjoyed the opera. In anticipation, I brought along the score to study on the plane ride over, and listened to the entire opera once again on my iPod walking around Sydney. I went with several other people, and they all enjoyed it.
This time we were seated in the second row, so we had a good view of the stage and the orchestra (the Australia Opera and Ballet Orchestra). Conducting by Andrea Licata was precise and intense, accompanied by heavy breathing on the up beat. I wished he would calm down for some of the passages though. As it was, the orchestra often drowned out the softer arias. I was quite disappointed at the way the humming chorus was rushed through, though. A downside for being close is we nearly all got whiplash tilting our heads up and down to see the subtitles (Australians call them surtitles).
It should have been a real stretch for Elena Prokina, who appeared to be in her late 30s (let’s be charitable), to play a 15-year old Japanese Geisha, somehow I overlook that as the opera progressed. Her voice was pleasant, and I really enjoyed the soft passages, but she seemed to have trouble reaching some of the high notes (B-flat or C, I am not sure). Nonetheless, she managed to put in a performance strong enough to make this a memorable production. Rosario La Spina, who played the role of Pinkerton, had a strong voice. Unfortunately, he seemed more intent in showing off his own singing talents and didn’t mind drowning out other people.
The Opera Australia Chorus was a bit shaky and off-key when they first appeared with Cio-Cio San. Otherwise they were quite solid.
Both Suzuki and Sharpless (played by Sally-Anne Russell and John Pringle respectively) put in strong performances. The duets Suzuki sang with Butterfly were well done. Sharpless added one of the few light moments in the evening by feigning how difficult it was for him to sit on a mat.
The staging, while cleverly designed, was a bit too simple. In some other productions I have seen of this opera, they at least bothered to haul Yamadori around in a rickshaw! More elaborate staging definitely would have added to the production.
In contrast to Sydney concert audiences (see my earlier blog on the Nigel Kennedy concert), tonight’s audience was extremely reserved. They applauded sparingly during the show (one noted exception: after Butterfly sang “un bel di vedremo”, an aria I wish she had taken more slowly and more wistfully). Given how enthusiastic they were after each act, they were undoubtedly very appreciative. The actors and musicians put everything they had into the opera. One of the dancers slipped on the rose petals but recovered quickly. I am sure he had bruises on him from the fall.
Madama Butterfly is a sympathetic figure and Puccini’s music is as usual extremely nice to listen to, although at times I wish he had put in a few more of the great melodies he was capable of. Even though tonight’s performance had some considerable flaws, it was nonetheless very enjoyable.
See also the Sydney Morning Herald review of the opera.
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