Madame Butterfly

Madame Butterfly
Central City Opera
Central City, CO
July 7 - August 5, 2019

Madame Butterfly is a rare opera that reaches further than just classical audiences. It inspired the play M. Butterfly and the musical Miss Saigon. Even people who do not love opera know the name and the story. This year the Central City Opera Festival features it as their marquee show.

The music was beautiful and well sung but the story was dated. The script did not give a clear explanation that Butterfly’s motive was to preserve her honor. In today’s society, it came across more that she was in despair.

The cast was disappointing in the obvious lack of Asian performers. For a show set in Japan, it would have been appropriate to have people who appeared Japanese.

The character Butterfly got her nickname due to her effervescent and fluttery personality. However that wasn’t rally the case. She was large and stoic. She didn’t bring butterflies to mind at all. Pinkerton, her love, was uninteresting and rather smarmy. He came across as a callous player rather than the man of anyone’s dreams.

It was Butterfly’s son who stole every scene. While a bit too old for the part, the child was charming and hit every cue.

The set was simple, yet was surprisingly versatile throughout the show. It had many entrances to create a feeling of a larger space. The costumes were beautiful and were the most integral part of creating the Japanese setting.

Overall, the Central City production of Madame Butterfly was lovely to look at and listen to. But some casting decisions did take away from the integrity of the production.