Showing @ Festival Theatre, Edinburgh until Sat 17 May @ 19:15 (touring)
After creating musical masterpieces for over fifty years, Scottish Opera return to their origins by producing the show that began their half a century journey. Madama Butterfly or Cio-Cio San (Anne Sophie Duprels, who alternates the role with Hye-Youn Lee), a former Geisha, becomes the child bride (she’s 15) of arrogant American Naval officer Pinkerton. His abandonment of Cio-Cio and her continued devotion feed this cross-cultural tale as ancient ideas of honour clash with the rapacious marketplace mentality of the West.
Pinkerton is a man who knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing, and there’s a tragic inevitability to this asymmetrical love affair that reflects the reality of its times. Written in 1904 when America was seen as a fast rising superpower and Japan a backward imperial state, Cio-Cio is just another possession to be picked up cheap and discarded just as cheaply.
Productions of Butterfly often revel in orientalism, but designer Yannis Thavoris’ sets and costumes offer a more muted take than audiences may be accustomed to, and this subtlety extends – as far as it can within such a melodramatic tale – to the playing. Jose Ferrero portrays Pinkerton as a preening oaf obsessed with money and drink, his powerful voice and confidence masking an empty vessel all too obvious to the audience – but not to his bride.
Of the two characters that embody anything close to decency, Hannah Hipp suffers nobly as Suzuki, Butterfly’s servant, torn between loyalty and knowledge of how things really stand. Christopher Purves as Sharpless the American Consul also comes out with some dignity intact, warning Pinkerton of the dangers of playing with a young girl’s heart. The main honours however go to Duprels. It’s a role that challenges the voice and the emotions, however Duprels wrings out every ounce of empathy as well as giving a powerful vocal performance.
Director Elaine Kidd has kept things simple, creating a strong but un-showy version and filling it with performers who can match the musical demands with acting ability. From its melodramatic tone to its setting, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly is a tricky proposition for a modern audience and in this production, Scottish Opera have just about got the balance right.