Passing through the massive front doors into the gilt-laden foyer of the Academy of Music, you know you are entering a new world. A sophisticated atmosphere pervades, and everyone around you is dressed smartly. As the patrons mill around, waiting to find the right entrance to get to their seats, there is a sense of excitement. Madame Butterfly is in town, and Philadelphia is getting itself ready for some of opera's most recognizable tunes.
As you hand your ticket to the usher, you can glimpse the stage through the throngs of people. On it there is a Japanese house and garden. And then you notice the cast. Unconventionally, director Kay Castaldo decided to have the curtain raised before the start of the opera. As the audience settles into their seats, the cast move slowly and gracefully across the stage and disappear as the orchestra begins tuning its instruments.
Butterfly is a tragic tale of an aristocratic, yet poor, Japanese girl marrying -- through the services of a marriage broker -- an American naval officer, Pinkerton. However, while she believes it is true love, he sees it as merely a way of passing the time until he can return to America. When he does go home, Butterfly waits in vain for him to return. But when he finally does, it is with his new American wife. Butterfly is distraught beyond all comprehension. She has raised Pinkerton's son in the intervening years, and once she has introduced them to each other for the first time, she retires back into her house. She then commits suicide with her father's sword.
This final scene is one of the most famous in all operatic history. It is infamous in its ability to reduce audiences to tears, and this one was no exception. Xiu-Wei Sun, who played Butterfly, cast a spell over the audience. Butterfly's character is one of pure kindness and sympathy, and Sun's masterful control of the opera's repertoire allowed the audience to create a bond with Butterfly. It was a fabulous performance, and she received four well-deserved standing ovations.
Madam Butterfly is a great opera for the uninitiated because its modern setting allows a latter-day audience to understand what's going on more than, say, Aida. And Butterfly's story is incredibly versatile. Original author John Long cannot have know that the story he wrote for Century Magazine in 1898 would be adapted into an opera, ballet and a musical. Only the musical has a different name. You might recognize it -- Miss Saigon. So, while to many the opera can seem like a daunting experience, many of its stories are timeless. It is worth knowing that the Opera Company of Philadelphia puts on affordable and renowned performances so close to campus.
