The curtain went up on Scottish Opera’s Madama Butterfly to an opening setting which didn’t seem quite right. In front of the audience was a theatrically traditional Japanese-style home, with sliding dividers and minimal furniture but the entire dwelling was at an angle. The crooked set is jarring as the home looks as if it would be beautiful, but never will be with such an anxiety inducing tilt. From the very outset, through Yannis Thavoris’s set design, it is clear this imperfect picture will not have a happy ending.
If you’re looking for an uplifting and romantic opera to start your summer on a high note of happiness, Madama Butterfly is not for you. Whilst the music is beautiful, this opera is a tragedy from the first act until the end of the third. It’s the tragic tale of a young adolescent girl swept off her feet by an American naval lieutenant who she marries, thinking she will live happily ever after; sadly though, as José Ferrero’s Lieutenant Pinkerton sings in Act 1, he will go back to America and get a ‘real wife’ after just a few months. Despite knowing the motives of Lieutenant Pinkerton, the audience, like Cio-Cio San (Madama Butterfly) are completely enchanted by Ferrero’s beautiful tenor voice. He is a perfect casting as the seemingly charming but ultimately spineless Pinkerton.
Anne Sophie Durprels beautifully portrays Butterfly’s naivety as not just an adolescent learning curve, but as a fundamental part of her nature. This was evident during the opera’s most famous aria ‘Un Bel Di’ when Butterfly sings of seeing her husband return to her in Japan so they can be together and happy as a family once again. This heartbreaking moment deserved the rapturous applause it received from the Aberdeen audience.
Butterfly’s only true friend through the story is her maid, Suzuki, played Hanna Hipp in her Scottish Opera debut. If this performance is anything to go by, Hipp can certainly be expected to be a future casting in productions to come. As well as having a warm and colourful mezzo-soprano instrument, her acting abilities are impeccable.
This is a difficult opera to come away from in anything but a rather sullen mood, so it’s vital that any production takes care of the more beautiful and light moments scattered throughout. Butterfly’s young son ‘Sorrow’ was an absolute scene stealer and adorable from the outset. Credit must be given to the director and cast for managing a naturalistic and believable bond between the characters. The ‘Humming chorus’ was lovely and well sung by the ensemble, however the full cast scenes in the beginning were somewhat cluttered. Various cast members were also noticeable hindered by the set being just slightly too high off the stage floor for comfort, which created a bit of clamour.
By Jess Osbourne
