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CANADIAN INDUSTRY ONLINE - OCTOBER 2014
irritated at being shut out during the
rehearsal process; an exceedingly long
second act that strained the audience’s
concentration (Puccini would revise
the score into a three-act work); finally,
the uproar could have been organized
and planted by Puccini’s jealous ri-
vals. In any case, Puccini withdrew
the score, returned his fee to the music
publisher, and made a number of revi-
sions to the opera. Three months later
it was given another performance at a
smaller theatre and was a terrific suc-
cess.
5.
ELEGANT SIMPLICITY
The production’s lean and ab-
stract set design, its evocative lighting,
and thoughtful use of space all support
the essence of the drama unfolding on
stage. Stylistically, Benson has chosen
to present Japan through the lens of
European Romanticism, rather than in
a historically realistic way. The colour
palette she draws from is symbolic of
troubles to come, with bright oranges
giving way to stormy greys.
6.
TWO GREAT BUTTERFLIES
Two great American singing
actresses make their COC debuts in
the role of Cio-Cio San:Patricia Ra-
cette and
.
Racette’s portrayal of the beloved
heroine touched millions in the recent
Metropolitan Opera HD broadcast.
Stands “among the great Butterflies of
her era” (Opera News).
Kaduce is a rising star on the op-
eratic world stage, praised for deliv-
ering a Cio-Cio San that “demolishes
stereotypes. This is noconventional
Butterfly-as-victim, but a woman of
consequence” (Santa Fe Reporter).
7.
VERISMO OPERA
Madama Butterfly is generally
considered one of the greatest works to
emerge from the Italian verismo move-
ment (1890s-1920s). Originally mean-
ing a “realist” mode of story-telling
that explored contemporary, working-
class life, verismo operas soon began
to encompass more diverse subject
matter, including the “exotic,” while
drawing on a variety of literary sourc-
es – Madama Butterfly is a prime ex-
ample of this trend.
8.
VERISMO MUSIC
One of the hallmarks of
this movement is that the vocal line
retains a spoken quality and natural
clarity, while spontaneously acquiring
musical pitch – the result is closer to
“
sung conversation” than the explo-
sive and ornamental singing associ-
ated with bel canto orRomantic Italian
opera. Of course Puccini still embraces
the emotional and vocal expansion of
the aria, and this opera features one of
the most recognizable arias of all time,
“
Un bel di.” You can listen to it, along
with other guided musical excerpts, at
coc.ca/COCRadio.
