Performance

Although today MADAMA BUTTERFLY stands among Giacomo Puccini's greatest operatic hits, alongside masterpieces like TOSCA or LA BOHÈME, its premiere at La Scala ended in disaster. The love duet from Act I was met with booing, and when Cio-cio-san began singing about the nesting robins, the audience burst into such laughter that the performance was nearly halted. Yet, today it is perhaps one of the greatest melodramatic operas, a true tearjerker. The story of the lovestruck geisha, deceived and abandoned, who cannot live without honor and thus dies with honor, is accompanied by Puccini's dramatic music with poignant arias for the main character. Although in this story, everything may seem somewhat superficial, from Japanese parasols to the characters themselves, the first bars of the aria "Un bel di vedremo" are enough for audiences to forgive everything and be captivated by Puccini's intuition that the atmosphere of the Far East would be perfect for the stage, enchanting viewers with its exoticism and uniqueness.