Madame Butterfly
Madame Butterfly was written in 1903 by Giacomo
Puccini. It is dramatically sung in Italian while being set in 1904 in
Nagasaki, Japan. The story is about an American Navy officer who falls for a
Japanese Geisha by the name of Butterfly. He decides to rent a house and marry
her because of the lax marriage and divorce laws. He marries her for fun until
he is ready to settle down with an American wife. Butterfly, the 15-year-old
Geisha, falls in love with Mr. Pinkerton and agrees to marry him. She loves him
so much that she abandons her religion and culture, which in return causes her
family to abandon her. Pinkerton and Butterfly spend a year together(not sure
of the time frame) as a happy married couple, but Pinkerton soon leaves making
Butterfly believe that he will be back for her. Three years pass by and
Butterfly eagerly waits for Pinkerton to come back to her every day.
Butterfly’s maid, Suzuki, tries to explain to her that Pinkerton is not coming
back, but Butterfly does not believe her. At the same time, a Japanese general
seeks her hand in marriage, but she refuses and claims that she is already
married. Soon Pinkerton’s consul, Sharpless, comes to visit Butterfly to give
her a letter from Pinkerton stating that he was returning to Japan. However, he
can not bring himself to tell her and instead asks her what she would do if Pinkerton
did not return. Butterfly then reveals that she had a son with him and to tell
him of their child. That night they see Pinkerton’s ship coming to their island
and eagerly wait all night for him to arrive. They all end up falling asleep,
so Suzuki puts them to bed. Pinkerton and Sharpless arrive with Pinkerton’s new
American wife, Kate. Pinkerton realizes the huge mess he’s made when he sees
how Butterfly decorated the house for his arrival. He admits he is a coward and
runs away so he does not have to face her leaving behind his wife and Sharpless.
His wife, Kate, reveals that they want to take Butterfly’s son to take care of
him. Butterfly awakens to them and realizes that Kate is Pinkerton’s wife and
they want their son. She agrees to give them her son, but only if Pinkerton
comes for him himself. She then goes into her a room and requests to be alone.
There she finds her father’s knife, but her son comes in to see her. She sings
for him to forgive her and blind folds him and sends him away. She then slits
her throat as Pinkerton arrives to see that she has already committed suicide. Fin.
The
mise en scene was
very beautiful and detailed. They must have really researched Japanese culture,
houses, and foliage to make it as authentic as possible. Considering most of
the story takes place at the couple’s house, it is very important that they
captured the authentic architecture of a traditional Japanese house. For a
background, they put a painting of the sea in the distance to make the audience
believe that the house was on top of a hill. They use different foliage to
represent an Asian garden around their house. To help set the mood of different
songs and scenes, the lights changed color to match the emotion the singers
were portraying. I believe that is the only use of technology really used in
the live opera.
When it was
originally presented, I believe audiences were just as shocked as I was. The
story of a one-sided love is quite heartbreaking and probably left the audience
feeling sorry for poor Butterfly. Especially when her family abandoned her. They
were probably angered by Pinkerton’s intentions from the very start, and
weren’t surprised when he left and didn’t return for 3 years. Then they were
shocked when they found out that Butterfly had a child with him. And even more
shocked when Pinkerton did come back but with his new wife from America. Finally,
they are left heartbroken once again as Pinkerton’s wife takes Butterfly’s
child, and Butterfly decides to commit suicide. Like most operas, this one
ended in tragedy and death. The audience may have found that frustrating by not
getting a good ending or some sort of closure. On the other hand, since most
operas do not have a happy ending, the audience may have expected a tragic
ending. If the audience is anything like myself, they may have found this opera
very dramatic.
Speaking of being
dramatic, this opera was made in the Romantic era. Since this was made in the
beginning of the 19th century, it was probably the example to follow
for other operas to learn from. Still tying in the romantic love story with a
touch of dark and gloom.
Now if I were a 21st
century director who was adapting this opera into a video game, I would make it
into a dating simulator game. A player will get the choice of choosing to be either
Butterfly or Pinkerton as they meet different people from the opera. The player
chooses who their character pursues and falls in love with by going on dates
and having conversations with them. Each choice they make will determine their
future and may lead to different scenarios or consequences. The player will
have to remember certain details about their suitors and play mini games to
proceed forward. Each suitor has the possibility of a good ending or a bad
ending. Even if the player chooses to have Butterfly and Pinkerton to be
together, they still have the chance to have a happy ending.
Sources:
“Opera's History.” Opera History | The Opera 101, The Opera 101, www.theopera101.com/operaabc/history/.
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