Syracuse Opera's captivating production of 'Madama Butterfly' completes a brilliant season (Review)

Central New York native Dinyar Vania plays Pinkerton, and Toni Marie Palmertree is Cio-Cio-San in Syracuse Opera's end-of-season production, "Madama Butterfly." The finale show is Sunday, April 15, at 2 p.m. at Crouse-Hinds Theater. (Ellen Dunbar)

The electricity of opening night flowed through the Crouse-Hinds Theater April 13, when Syracuse Opera produced "Madama Butterfly," the final "Doomed Diva" of it's three-show season. Giacomo Puccini's beloved opera, one of the saddest in popular repertoire, is an emotional coup in the hands of director Alison Moritz, conductor Glenn Lewis and a five-star cast. Audiences get one more chance to see it Sunday. At 2 p.m.

"Madama Butterfly" examines themes of culture and personal devotion held up against a backdrop of imperialism, classism, and racism. The story, set in Nagasaki at the beginning of the 20th century, is taken from an autobiographical novel by Pierre Loli. The opera had an unsuccessful premiere in Milan on Valentine's Day in 1904, and Puccini withdrew it for revisions before releasing it again in three acts and composing more songs for the tenor.

With Syracuse native Dinyar Vania singing the tenor lead, we can be glad of every note the composer wrote for the role of U. S. Naval Lt. B. F. Pinkerton. Vania's fluid voice moves effortlessly through the score with consistency and power in every register. He is the villain, a man who accepts the love of a 15-year-old geisha knowing he intends to abandon her and wed an American girl when he returns home.

Vania sings a thrilling "Dovunque al mondo" early in Act I, cued by Puccini's musical references to "The Star Spangled Banner." By Act III audience members are as captivated by the handsome American sailor as is his faithful "Butterfly." In that act, we hear a full measure of Vania's vocal passion when he sings the aria expressing his remorse for abandoning his Japanese wife.

Cio-Cio-San is played by Toni Marie Palmertree, whose clear soprano lifts, soars and dances on Puccini's gorgeous melodies. She is entrancing even before she's on stage, first heard singing from the wings the melody that becomes her motif as she approaches with her entourage to meet Pinkerton. After introductions, she and Pinkerton sing their love duet, "Viene la sera." It's a lustrous moment as the two leads blend their powerful voices in ecstatic longing for the night ahead. Cio-Cio-San sees it as a means of escaping the life of a geisha through genuine love, and Pinkerton sees it as an opportunity for a relationship that can be easily abandoned.

Palmertree first played the geisha role in 2016, stepping up from understudy. She starred as Cio-Cio-San in New Zealand in February prior to making her Syracuse Opera debut. To her falls the most well-known aria of the opera, "Un bel di Vedremo," sung early in Act. II. Even without the English surtitles, the audience would grasp the range of emotion Palmertree expresses as she first imagines her joy "one fine day" at the return of Pinkerton, then her hysterics as she considers her life of poverty and shame if he does not come back.

Also in Act II is the exotic blossom duet in which Cio-Cio-San and her handmaid, Suzuki, mingle their voices as they sing of bringing spring into the home for the return of Pinkerton. Laurel Semerdjian has a honey-smooth mezzo-soprano voice and a stage presence that translate into a stunning performance of Suzuki.

The American Consul, Pinkerton's friend Sharpless, is played by bass Troy Cook, who earned an extra-enthusiastic response during curtain call for his high-caliber acting and rich, appealing voice. It is Sharpless who takes pity on and attempts to protect Butterfly. Local performer Jonathan Howell adds a touch of comic relief with his portrayal of Goro, the matchmaker. He tries to sell off Cio-Cio-San during Pinkerton's absence to the wealthy Prince Yamadori (Tallon Larham).

Local soprano Danan Tsan plays Kate Pinkerton, the "real" wife, who promises to care for the son her husband fathered with Butterfly. The 3-year-old child is played by Jaala Eiilis and Kaala Eiilis. Also in the cast are Kofi Hayford, Adam Paul Fine, John Halpin, Diane Zamowski, Melanie Brunet Relyea, and Katerina Skafidas.

Syracuse Opera Chorus, prepared by Joseph Downing, and Symphoria collaborate on the production. Lewis conducts a reduced orchestral score, which creates perfect audio balance between instrumentalists and vocalists. All Puccini's passion remains and is especially formidable in the final, crashing chord when Pinkerton finds Butterfly dead by the same sword her father had used to commit suicide.

Costumes and hairstyling create the illusion of Japan in the early 1900s. Minimal sets are often rearranged during scenes, and they are magically transformed to convey various moods and actions by lighting designer Alexander P. Koziara.

"Madama Butterfly" consistently reaches the top 10 in lists of most performed operas. It is staged in various settings by hundreds of companies with actors who project varied interpretations. Despite the tragedy's familiarity, the Syracuse Opera story version of a teenager who relinquished her home, family, religion, and life itself in her quest for love is freshly imagined and sensitively presented.

THE DETAILS:

What: Giacomo Puccini's "Madama Butterfly"

Who: Syracuse Opera. Glenn Lewis, conductor; Alison Moritz, director

Where: Crouse-Hinds Theater, John H. Mulroy Civic Center, 411 Montgomery St.

When: Reviewed April 13; plays again Sunday, April 15, at 2 p.m.

Running Time: Approximately two and a half hours with one 20-minute intermission

Language: Sung in Italian with projected surtitles in English

Tickets: From $26; students, $10

Purchase: online at syracuseopera.org or by phone at 315-476-7372

Looking Ahead: Artistic Director Garrett Heater announced the 2018 - 2019 Syracuse Opera season, which is comprised of three works to be staged at Crouse-Hinds Theater.

Verdi's "Macbeth" will run Oct. 19 and 21; Mozart's "Don Giovanni" will run Feb. 1 and 3, 2019, and Kurt Weill's "Three Penny Opera will close the season April 12 and 14, 2019.

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