Madama Butterfly – Review of 2024 Aix-En-Province Festival Production

The Aix-en-Provence Festival is in full swing (July 3 to 23, 2024) offering an eclectic selection of operas and other musical entertainments in the gorgeous weather and in the beautiful medieval city in southern France after which it is named.
Puccini’s Madama Butterfly is one the selections from the standard repertoire that gets an idiosyncratic production by German director Andrea Breth. Some of her choices appear inspired, others arbitrary and some simply confusing.
First the singers. The big drawing card is Ermonela Jaho, the Albanian soprano with the luscious and big soprano voice. She gave her all as Cio-Cio San (Madama Butterfly), the 15-year-old Japanese girl who falls in love with and marries B. F. Pinkerton, a swaggering and irresponsible American naval officer. Jaho manages a lovely tremolo to express tenderness and love. And oh, the longing in “Un bel di vedremo” when she imagines the return of Pinkerton’s ship in the harbour, his climb up the hill and her delirious happiness. We know that he spent one night with her and disappeared for three years, and she had his baby.
Jaho is about 50 years old, and she has been singing for more than 30 years. But she did not disappoint. From the happy child bride to the determined and faithful American wife and finally the crushed human being she played our emotional strings like a virtuoso. In the final moment of the opera when the orchestra played the last beat, Madama Butterfly’s head dropped, and she collapsed dead. The audience gasped, the lights went out and we jumped to our feet in a standing ovation.
Pinkerton is one of the most odious characters in opera and British tenor Adam Smith does a good job with his stentorian voice. But he tries too hard to reach his high notes and his voice becomes harsh and in fact cracks a couple of times. He is otherwise fine. He wears a suit in the opening scene but does put on a navy jacket in the end. The fact that he is a naval officer emphasizes his disgusting conduct and there is no reason for the singer not (to?) appear in all his glory in that outfit.
Decency is represented by Sharpless, the American consul, sung by Belgian baritone Lionel Lhote. He must maneuver between his compatriot’s evil and the innocent Butterfly with vocal steadfastness and moral equanimity. We like what the character does and how Lhote archives it.
Japanese mezzo soprano Mihoko Fujimura’s performance as Suzuki is praiseworthy. She is Butterfly’s maid who is not divorced from reality as Butterfly is. Admirable work by Fujimura. Italian tenor Carlo Bosi’s looked and acted like an American real estate agent but he sang well and his characterization enhanced the role. In short, the production had a fine cast.
Now for some unfriendly comments about Breth’s handling of the plot. Whenever Breth could choose between static and kinetic she opted for the motionless. There are opportunities for the singers to move around but Breth tries to restrict such luxuries. What she does do is have characters walk on and off the stage for no explicable reason. They slowly shuffle or are brought on by a rotating conveyor belt. I could not figure out what they were doing,
When Pinkerton’s ship arrives in the harbour, we see a man holding the small replica of a ship in his hand while the revolving conveyor belt brings him around. Other characters less obviously do the same. Are they figments of Butterfly’s imagination? Are we watching a psychodrama about her imagination? In other words what is going on?
Breth and Set Designer Raimond Orfeo Voigt want the action to take place in an enclosed area. That is an acceptable approach, but the area is separated from the audience by upright girders. These frequently block the face of the singer and that is annoying. Did no one notice this unnecessary nuisance which increases in intensity every time a performer’s face is blocked? The production gains nothing by telling us that all action takes place in an enclosed space. All else about the set design is fine.
A final bow and standing ovation are due to the Choir and Orchestra of the Opéra national de Lyon led by the master conductor Daniele Rustioni.
Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini continues in repertory until July 22, 2024, at the Théâtre de l'Archevêché, Aix-en-Provence, France

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