Minimalist, sober – even a little austere –, functional and effective, are some of the adjectives that serve to define the stage setup that stage directors Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier conceived in 2003 for the production of Madam Butterfly from the Royal Opera House in London. It is made up of various traditional Japanese style panels that rise and fall, or move from left to right, depending on the needs of each scene to show a background that contextualizes Japan at the end of the Edo era, towards the mid-19th century. .
At that time, the staging was an innovative and elegant commitment that, additionally, did not imply great demands in terms of assembly or logistics, in addition to focusing all the stage focus on the protagonist, the unfortunate young Japanese woman Cio-Cio-San. It arrived at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona in 2006 and this December, which began with significantly low temperatures, it has reached its fourth revival on stage.
In this case with the special incentive of celebrating the centenary of the death of the composer of the work, Giacomo Puccini, which took place precisely on November 29. Thus, Puccini’s most popular opera, which also contains one of the most widespread arias of all time, A bel dì, vedremooccupies these days, and until December 28, the stage of the Barcelona theater. It is conducted by Chilean Paolo Bortolameolli, who stands out for having been associate director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and right-hand man of Venezuelan Gustavo Dudamel.
Three renowned sopranos
Three top-level sopranos defend this one on stage Madam Butterfly. The three take turns on alternate dates to cover this extremely demanding role, both technically in the voice and physically in the effort, given that Cio-Cio-San is a role that practically carries the entire weight of this opera. more than two hours on their backs.
But Madam Butterfly It also represents a challenge in expressiveness, given the drama of the story, which the soprano must make credible at all times to maintain the plot tension. Puccini always thought of his operas with a scenic sense that was a precursor to cinematic melodrama, which forced the performers to strive to be good actresses and actors as well as competent singers.
Taking these keys into account, the choice of the three sopranos can be understood, all of them born between 1979 and 1981 and therefore at the highest point of their careers in terms of maturity and capabilities. These are the Bulgarian resident in Spain Sonya Yoncheva, the Madrid-born Saioa Hernández and the North American Alyn Pérez, who was precisely the one who starred in yesterday’s session.
Pérez represents the American school, with more crystalline and clean voices but with less dramatic power in the voice, although paying special attention to the interpretive quality, which is always a plus in Puccini’s operas. In fact, the soprano comes from playing the role of Mimí in the production of The bohème at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York
A convincing Alyn Pérez
Due to his abilities, Pérez knew how to maintain the weight of the work in a convincing way, supplying with expressiveness and interpretive emotionality the places where his voice could be seen more limited, such as the devastating finale, where Cio-Cio-San takes off his life after learning the intentions of the demonic Pinkerton.
But at the same time, his quality and vocal technique allowed him to shine in other moments more favorable to his characteristics, such as the duet Tutti i fiorwho sings alongside Suzuki, for the occasion performed by the Catalan mezzo-soprano Gemma Coma-Alabert, who knew how to accompany Pérez at all times.
He stood out, in this way, especially at the end of the first act, in the love duet, Vogliatemi benewhich Cio-Cio-San sings with Pinkerton and which was one of the most memorable and lyrical moments of the afternoon. In this regard, yesterday the role of Pinkerton was played by the Tenerife tenor Celso Albelo, with a solid voice, perhaps a little too deep for the role of a Pinkerton who must appear to have the lyricism of youth, but without a doubt a prop. when it comes to covering the most demanding moments, such as the aforementioned duet.
On the other hand, the character of Sharpless, the American consul in Nagasaki, was played with solvency by the Madrid baritone Gerardo Bullón. Finally, the ruthless Goro matchmaker was in charge of Pablo Garcia-López, a young tenor from Cordoba who performed for the first time at the Liceu in the 22/23 season.
Madama Butterfly, ‘woke’ opera
Madam Butterfly tells the story of Cio-Cio-San, a Japanese teenager from Nagasaki, barely 15 years old, who at the end of the 19th century, a time when Japan was once again exposing itself to the world after more than two centuries of isolation, is deceived by a matchmaker. making her believe that she is marrying a young and handsome American naval officer, Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton. In reality, the wedding is a hoax intended so that Pinkerton, a sexual predator, can satisfy his desire with what remains an immature and naive girl.
After a night of deceit and lust, Pinkerton leaves Japan and Cio-Cio-San becomes pregnant. She, in love, will wait three years with blind faith accompanied by her servant and friend Suzuki, until he returns. He does it with a Western woman, whom he considers his official wife and who, made aware of the existence of the child, intends to take him away from Cio-Cio-San and raise him herself in the United States. When the young Japanese woman understands the situation, she decides to blindfold her child and give him an American flag to wave while she, totally devastated, takes her own life due to the seppuku ritual.
Although in all of Puccini’s operatic production there is a departure from more epic themes to descend to the realm of reality, concern for social miseries and denunciation of the situation of women in the context of their time, it is in Madam Butterfly where this positioning is most concentrated, which even today is current and which we could homologate as “woke”.
Madam Butterfly It has everything in this sense: minor prostitution in Asia and child marriage, since the protagonist is barely 15 years old when she is falsely married to the American officer Pinkerton. Also surrogacy, since Pinkerton’s Western wife wants to steal the son that Cio-Cio-San had with her husband.
And of course it deals with colonialism and racism, which is deduced from Sharpless and Pinkerton’s contempt for Japanese customs and their exaltation of American imperialism. The rejection of multiculturalism is another present theme, since the protagonist is repudiated by her people for renouncing her religion and customs.
It even deals with the drama of migrants, since Cio-Cio-San’s desire is none other than to travel to “America” with her son and become a true North American, without knowing that she has been vilely deceived by people interested in exploiting her. So Madam Butterflyfirst premiered in 1904, is a wise choice by the Liceu as a celebration of the centenary of Puccini’s death, as it reminds us that the themes of his operas are still relevant in our world today.
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