Xiu Ying Li (r) and Dinyar Vania
©Matthew
Staver for Opera Colorado
Opera Colorado opened its current season with Madama Butterfly, set in early 20th
century Japan and one of Giacomo Puccini's most enduring and often-performed operas. This is the fourth time the
company has staged the tale of the doomed relationship between 15-year-old
Cio-Cio San and American naval officer B.F. Pinkerton, whose 999-year-lease
(with a month-to-month option to cancel) extends both to his possession of the
house in Nagasaki as well as to the “bride” chosen for him to live there.
It is a rare opera where the title character is not also the
star, and Madama Butterfly is no
exception. Opera Colorado endlessly
publicized its signing of Chinese soprano Xiu
Ying Li (”Shuying Li”) to play Cio-Cio San, especially since Ms. Li performed
the role to considerable acclaim some years back with New York City Opera—a
performance whose PBS telecast earned her an Emmy® award. While a suspension of disbelief is clearly
required for any soprano who tackles this role—no teenager could ever hope to
meet its vocal demands—the most accomplished Cio-Cio Sans have managed to
capture her sweetness of voice despite being decades older than the young woman
being portrayed onstage. Ms. Li’s powerful
and occasionally penetrating voice—especially in its upper register—and her decision
to show the title character as someone fully in command of her destiny,
while much in line with modern-day interpretations of the role, seemed to run counter
to the characterization intended by Puccini and librettists Illica and Giacosa.
Tenor Dinyar Vania
was Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton, the young naval lieutenant oftentimes portrayed
as a cad, a villain, and the personification of the Ugly American. The duet between Pinkerton and Butterfly that
follows their exchange of wedding vows clearly illustrates the vast differences
between their respective cultures and the way they see their impending life
together. The soprano sings of romantic
love, while the tenor is clearly more focused on the carnal pleasures that
await him. Great tenors are exceedingly
rare, and good ones are hard to come by.
As Pinkerton, Mr. Vania was adequate; he hit all the notes and played the
role with more dignity than caricature.
When it comes to a company that possesses a limited budget for top singers,
sometimes that is sufficient.
As has been the case with Opera Colorado the past few years,
the best voices in this production were found among the supporting roles. The character of Sharpless is constructed to
echo the East-versus-West conflict inherent in the plot. As the U.S. consul he is responsible for encouraging
Pinkerton to accept Cio-Cio San as his concubine, while becoming ever more
aware of the seriousness with which the girl views what is obviously a
temporary arrangement. Baritone John Hancock sang the role with masterful
intonation and just the right amount of passion, his onstage presence carefully
balanced between his authority as a consul and his humanity as Pinkerton’s
conscience. Mezzo-soprano Erica Brookhyser was marvelous as
Suzuki, Cio-Cio San’s servant and confidante.
Puccini elected not to provide this character with her own aria, but for a supporting role she has some beautifully moving music.
Ms. Brookhyser’s duet with Li (“Flower Duet”) that concludes Act Two was
the vocal highlight of the performance.
As one of the few singers not making his Opera Colorado debut in this
production, baritone Jared Guest was
yet another welcome addition to the cast.
He was Prince Yamadori, the prospective suitor who is turned away
because Cio-Cio San is convinced Pinkerton will return to her after a
three-year absence (and the birth of her son, Trouble).
There are relatively few directorial challenges to Butterfly, especially since the entire
opera takes place in a single setting—Cio-Cio San’s house. There is also only one intermission, with Acts
Two and Three separated by the famous “Humming Chorus” and an absence of stage
action, as the two women quietly await Pinkerton’s arrival. The opera’s closing scene is Puccini at his
best, a composer who knew how to twist an audience’s emotions toward tragedy
(Mimi’s demise in La boheme; the
title character’s leap of death in Tosca)
or triumph (Minnie and Dick riding off into the sunset in La fanciulla del West; Calaf’s successful wooing in Turandor). But as directed by Keturah Stickann, the opera concludes on a flat and relatively
emotionless note. Even though most
operagoers know what’s coming, the depth of musical drama and the action that
culminates in Cio-Cio San’s suicide—she would rather die than survive after
surrendering her son to Pinkerton and his American wife—has been done with greater passion in previous productions.
It was an unnecessarily disappointing ending. On a much brighter note, the orchestra
performed to its standard level of excellence.
Under maestro Ari Pelto’s
baton they played with balance and sensitivity, in general doing a much
better job of contrasting crescendos and pianissimos than some of the principal
singers managed to achieve. In his Opera
Colorado debut, chorus master Andres
Cladera should be proud of the cohesiveness shown by his small cadre of
performers, both in their onstage and offstage singing.
The final two performances of Madama Butterfly are Friday evening
(November 21) and Sunday afternoon (November 23). Limited tickets remain for both
performances. The company concludes its
two-production season in May 2015 with four performances of The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte) by W.A. Mozart, sung in German with English and
Spanish subtitles.
For further information, please visit www.operacolorado.org.
