Puccini: Madama Butterfly ****
The Royal Opera, 27th March 2017
Ermonela Jaho sure likes to put herself (and us) through the emotional wringer on Covent Garden’s stage. Her characters usually meet with a sticky end: Violetta and Mimì both succumb to tuberculosis; a delirious Manon expires in Des Grieux’s arms before she even gets deported; Suor Angelica takes poison when she discovers the child she was forced to give up has died. Only Magda in La rondine makes it to the curtain alive (but having abandoned her lover). This time, London finally got to see her as another tragic Puccini heroine: Madama Butterfly.
Ermonela Jaho (Cio-Cio San)
© ROH | Bill Cooper
Read the full review on Bachtrack.