It is the striking image of a desperate woman, face painted white with striking black hair a dazzling contrast, blowing behind her in the wind, as the loose blossoms blow around her, lifting a knife high into the air and then plunging it deep into her breast - for honour, for love - that will forever haunt audiences who leave Madam Butterfly.
This is the final scene in Puccini’s masterpiece, a naive young girl driven to death and her son sitting at the front of his stage, his eyes covered with a white blindfold. Symbolic of only innocence that he can see? It is a truly tragic tale that moves everyone who hears its haunting, and well penned score - and the performance by the Welsh National Opera at Liverpool’s Empire Theatre was no exception. All were moved by its grace and charm, and most of all, haunted, by how understated it was.
Russell Thomas as Pinkerton came to receive a pantomime reaction - his villainy through the first act was well played, and thoroughly believable. His character was uncomfortable to watch as you saw the tragic end building from the very first word that Pinkerton sang. He simply wants a girl in every port, a ‘flower of everywhere, love of every beauty’.
With Butterfly, his bought Geisha wife, secured in Japan, Pinkerton knows he can have his fun and then under Japanese law, abandon her and that will be as good as divorce. He ignores any warnings from his friends.
Madam Butterfly, played by Anne Williams-King, appears among the other Geisha. A good Butterfly - there are points when it could be said that she was blown away by Suzuki, played by Claire Bradshaw - she arrives just before her family, and the first part of the opera serves to set up the basis of the tragedy, with a humorous quality - there are some antics with the drunken uncle - in order to allow brevity.
It is the closing number between Pinkerton and Madam Butterfly which really marks the change. The quietness of the instruments, and the softness of pitch make this remarkable. The song is supposed to be reassuring, as he seduces her, and cements their love. Really cementing her tragedy, as she now believes him fully and waits for his return without ever wavering in thought, feeling, or deed.
Arguably the most wonderful aspect Madam Butterfly, is Puccini’s use of silence, stillness, and the quiet. Rather than large, over the top movements, which we stereotypically call to mind when we think of Opera, the score in Madam Butterfly, is simply an extension of its name. It is fragile, and delicate. This makes it all the more haunting.
As Madam Butterfly waits for the return of Pinkerton, we too await his return in the relative quiet or silence. As she is shocked almost to death, the orchestra completely stops, dead. There is no noise, just silence, and this shocking level of silence is unbelievable. It is thrilling to see what degree silence really is a musical tool and Puccini really excels with Madam Butterfly.
I attended the Welsh National Opera’s rendition of Madam Butterfly with high hopes, a friend had given a previous good review of their Don Giovanni, and I was wishing for more of the same. I was not disappointed. With Madam Butterfly, I truly feel that no one else could be too. A story that is epic, tragic, but incredibly easy to follow and to enjoy. It is an opera that is accessible to everyone and one that anyone who is interested, should definitely attempt to attend.
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