Programs · Episode

PUCCINI: Madame Butterfly

Program: At the Opera
Aired: Saturday, February 1, 2025 @ 6:00 pm
Hosted by Lisa Simeone

A much-loved masterpiece, Puccini’s Butterfly warns that the meeting of divergent cultures can lead to both rich rewards, and tragic misunderstanding. At the Opera examines the drama in in recordings featuring three singers acclaimed for their interpretations of that title role:  Renata Tebaldi, Leontyne Price, and Mirella Freni. And alongside them, we’ll hear three tenors who aren’t too shabby, either:  Carlo Bergonzi, Richard Tucker, and José Carreras.

FEATURED RECORDINGS:

Tullio Serafin, conductor; Orchestra and Chorus of the Santa Cecilia Academy, Rome
CAST:  Renata Tebaldi (Cio-Cio San); Carlo Bergonzi (B. F. Pinkerton); Fiorenza Cossotto (Suzuki); Enzo Sordello (Sharpless); Anglo Mercuriali (Goro); Paolo Washington (The Bonze); Lidia Nerozzi (Kate Pinkerton)
(London 411634)

Erich Leinsdorf, conductor; RCA Italiana Opera Orchestra and Chorus
CAST:  Leontyne Price (Cio-Cio San); Richard Tucker (B. F. Pinkerton); Rosalind Elias (Suzuki); Philip Maero (Sharpless); Piero de Palma (Goro); Virilio Carbonari (The Bonze); Anna di Stasio (Kate Pinkerton)
(RCA 6160)

Lorin Maazel, conductor; Philharmonia Orchestra, Ambrosian Opera Chorus
CAST:  Renata Scotto (Cio-Cio San); Placido Domingo (B. F. Pinkerton); Gillian Knight (Suzuki); Ingvar Wixell (Sharpless); Florindo Andreolli (Goro); Malcolm King (The Bonze); Ann Murray (Kate Pinkerton)
(CBS 35181)

MORE ABOUT THE OPERA:

In a typical opera, if there is such a thing, the lead tenor plays a good guy — a dashing, romantic hero. First he sweeps the female lead off her feet.  Then, if they’re separated, he braves all obstacles to be with her forever — and if she dies in the end, he’s probably a goner, as well, sacrificing himself for her honor.

Then, there’s Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. In that one, the tenor may be dashing but he’s definitely no hero. He’s … well, at best he’s a creep.  In the second act we hear another character refer to him as “a devil,” and by that time it’s hard to disagree.

Some say the drama that inspired Madame Butterfly was based on an actual incident — if not one of many. As the story goes, a handsome naval officer is sent to an exotic land, in this case Japan, where he uses his power and position to seduce and abandon a 15-year-old girl — who then commits suicide.

Theater mogul David Belasco staged a play using that basic story in New York in 1900. When it moved on to London, Giacomo Puccini was in the audience. The drama was performed in English, and Puccini didn’t understand much of the dialogue. But he knew the stuff of a good opera when he saw it. For the libretto, he relied on Luigi Ilica and Giuseppe Giocosa, who had a pretty good track record.  The two had already worked with the composer on Tosca and La Boheme.

As it happens, Puccini picked the right time for his new opera.  In the mid-19th century, when Japan became one of the last countries of the Far East to be opened to the West, everything Japanese was suddenly in fashion. Wealthy Victorian men of leisure began traveling to Japan, becoming infatuated with the country and its people. Japanese elements began showing up in the work of painters, poets, playwrights and musicians, and the influence continued into the 1900s. James MacNeil Whistler, William Butler Yeats, Vincent Van Gogh and William Morris were just a few of the Western artists inspired by Japanese culture.

Puccini’s Madame Butterfly was first performed at Milan’s La Scala in 1904, introducing audiences to one of the most heartbreaking characters in all of opera — Cio-Cio San, Madame Butterfly herself.  The opera wasn’t an instant hit, but Puccini reworked the score for a production in Paris two years later and it now ranks among the most popular operas of all time.

On World of Opera, host Lisa Simeone takes us through Madame Butterfly in recordings featuring three of the greatest performers ever to sing the title role:  Renata Tebaldi, Leontyne Price and Renata Scotto.  And, alongside them, we’ll also hear three pretty good tenors: Carlo Bergonzi, Richard Tucker, and José Carreras.

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