Tag Archives: Madama Butterfly

Tears on the picnic lawn: Madama Butterfly makes her bow at the Glyndebourne Festival

Posted on May 20, 2018 by Mark Pullinger

Puccini: Madama Butterfly *** Glyndebourne, 19th May 2018 It’s easy to get sucked into the sentimentality of Madama Butterfly. Puccini’s luscious score, infused with Japanese pastel colours, showers the audience in orchestral cherry blossom and the story of Cio-Cio-San’s blind devotion … Continue reading →

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Broken wings: Ermonela Jaho a devastating Madama Butterfly at Covent Garden

Posted on March 28, 2017 by Mark Pullinger

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 … Continue reading →

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“It’s not a Cinderella story”: Kristine Opolais on returning to Rusalka

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Mark Pullinger

Interview: Kristine Opolais Martin Kušej’s controversial Munich production of Rusalka – to which you return in June – was seen as a breakthrough role for you in terms of international recognition. What are the challenges in that particular staging? Martin … Continue reading →

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Plums and turkeys: a musical voyage around 2016

Posted on December 28, 2016 by Mark Pullinger

Most people I know cannot wait to see the back of 2016. But in the year in which Brexit, Trump and the Grim Reaper were the big winners, I admit to having had a terrific twelve months. A whirl of … Continue reading →

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Tears of blood among the cherry blossoms: La Scala make amends with a return to Puccini’s original Madama Butterfly

Posted on December 9, 2016 by Mark Pullinger

Puccini: Madama Butterfly **** Teatro alla Scala, Milan, 7th December 2016 For years I’ve wondered why Cio-Cio San refers to her bridegroom as F.B. Pinkerton when the Imperial Commissioner names him as Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton in the wedding ceremony. Was … Continue reading →

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