Oleg Innokentyevich Konovaluk reviews: 72 ratings: 112 rating: 201
They sing on stage in Italian, and Russian translation letters appear on the running line above the curtain. And it's terribly distracting. You either get engrossed in reading and forget to look at the stage, and the music itself seems to rush by, then you stop reading and get lost in the storyline.
But I’m still a lover of operas and everything else in the original language.
The costumes are no longer the same as those that went on tour in Soviet era and won all possible prizes.
But what I love most about Stanislavsky is that they have these classics and you can always watch them!
In Butterfly, to my shame and chagrin, there was not a single more or less familiar melody.
Vasily Filippov reviews: 36 ratings: 35 rating: 68
The impression is magical.
Aria Cio-Cio-san gives you goosebumps.
The costumes are very original.
In a word, I liked it! I strongly recommend it.
Lousy Butterfly reviews: 322 ratings: 1355 rating: 348
I somehow went through it without any special emotions. Nowadays the time is not so good simple stories smear for so long. Maybe I'm just not a Puccini fan. I like Verdi better. Although I really like “Tosca” - all for the same notorious reasons;) this is a “male” opera (there are only a few of them among operas in general) - the male parts here are just honey, you listen with your mouth agape. Especially the final part, when Cavaradossi is still sure that he will be hanged (“And I so want to live...”).
Here I first saw the film adaptation of the joke about old Juliet and rheumatic Romeo. So, a fifteen-year-old eighteen-year-old girl here is a fat woman of about forty years old. It’s impossible to watch her run aka flutter without tears. A three-year-old child is up to her chest. Japanese geishas are hunchbacked (!). Etc. And Red Label whiskey!), presented in real life on stage from a nearby supermarket (hurray for verismo!)...
It’s still worth saying a little more about Mrs. Butterfly than just saying nothing. IN given time performer of the role of Butterfly - appears in the third performance already leading role. A graduate of the Ural Conservatory with a Buryat face and dark hair- she’s Carmen, she’s Tosca, she’s Cinderella;))), she’s Butterfly, and a lot of other things, perhaps, are also “she.” But that’s something else - in the pictures on the walls you can easily see a blonde Carmen (!)... And nothing... if only she could sing;)
In a word, the thing is quite difficult to listen to, it is not replete with strong arias, duets and trios... and in general... But for general education, if you don’t get to another theater, you can.
Anna Martynuk reviews: 41 ratings: 41 ratings: 13
Bravo
Last Sunday I watched the opera “Madama Butterfly” at the Moscow Academic Musical Theater named after Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko.
The opera, which premiered back in 1904 in Milan, still attracts a full house.
This is not the first production of this work at MAMT. “Madama Butterfly” was first shown here to viewers back in 1935. The premiere of the performance that we see now took place in 2002.
The performance turned out to be very calm, laconic, not overloaded with unnecessary details: all the viewer’s attention is focused on our experiences and fate main character.
Irina Vashchenko (Chio-Chio-san) very clearly conveyed the emotions of her heroine: her boundless blind love, the pain of disappointment and loss... She became the most vivid and memorable character.
In the role of Pinkerton on stage we see Nikolai Erokhin. His image is different from my idea of this character. An indecisive, lying coward with a magnificent, charming voice.
I would like to thank Elena Stepanova for the gorgeous costumes. The impeccable white kimono of Chio-san, the funny bright and colorful outfits of her family members, the warlike and strict suits of our heroine’s uncle and his retinue.
The decorations are quite minimalist. All three actions remain virtually unchanged.
The work of light is very beautifully structured: elegant combinations of pink, blue, gray. Lighting designer Ildar Bederdinov.
The orchestra was excellent. Beautiful music, gorgeous voices - all this created an amazing atmosphere.
Lyudmila Naletova managed to create a subtle production that touches the soul. My favorite part was the last scene, in which Cio-Cio-san takes his own life and floats away in a boat along the river of death, arms outstretched like the wings of a butterfly.
The rest of the characters, including Pinkerton, play a supporting role in the opera. The heroine's struggle with the world around her, rejected by everyone, remaining faithful to her husband and raising her son in the bright love - leads her to a psychological drama and to a sad end.
Puccini's score will make it clear to even a person not familiar with the libretto that the action takes place in Japan. Harp, piccolo flute, bells, tom-toms, Japanese folk melodies - all this sounds and suggests the geolocation of what is happening.
Again I turn my attention to the orchestra. Fabulous! It’s as if every phrase of the characters is spoken out by the music, sometimes it seems as if it’s not necessary to sing - the music so fully conveys the action on stage with an orchestra.
Now, for us today, it is difficult to understand, and sometimes it is funny to look at naive women of the past)).
Yes, we are different. And we listen with pleasure to the music of the last century and are amazed by the women of Nagasaki!
about the Performance
Madame Butterfly
For more than a hundred years, the works of Giacomo Puccini have graced the repertoires of the world's leading theaters, however, many of this composer's creations were not immediately accepted. Among them is the opera "Madama Butterfly", which is now considered one of the best creations Italian genius. The premiere production of this work failed miserably at La Scala. The distressed Puccini included in the score significant changes, added one more act and presented the opera in an updated version in Brescia. This time the audience received her with delight. Since then, this work has been a success everywhere, and tickets to the opera “Madama Butterfly” are always sold out with great excitement.
At the Musical Theater named after. K.S. Stanislavsky and Vl. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko's opera by Puccini was staged by director Alexander Titel. In his vision, the story of the geisha Cio-Cio-san and Lieutenant Pinkerton is shown not as a melodrama, but as a clash of two moral principles. The production brings to the fore psychological conflict sincerity and falsehood. To see a fascinating story that turns from a tearful melodrama into a real tragedy, you should order tickets for the opera “Madama Butterfly” at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theater on our website online or by phone.
The duration of the performance is 2 hours 45 minutes (with one intermission).
Ticket price: from 1200 to 4000 rubles.
Composer Giacomo Puccini
Libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa
Musical director and stage conductor Ara Karapetyan
Conductor: Vyacheslav Volich
Conductor: Felix Korobov
Stage director Lyudmila Nalyotova
Plastic director and choreographer Irina Lychagina
Production designer Elena Stepanova
Costume designer Elena Stepanova
Lighting designer Ildar Bederdinov
Genre Opera
Number of acts 2
Language of execution: Italian
Original title Madama Butterfly
Duration: 2 hours 45 minutes (one intermission)
Premiere date: 05/04/2002
Age limit 12+
The performance is a laureate of the Russian National Theater Prize"Golden Mask" 2003 in 4 nominations (" best performance at the opera"; " best job director"; "best work of an artist"; "best female role" - Olga Guryakova).
Conductor - Vyacheslav Volich, Felix Korobov
Cio-Cio-san - Irina Vashchenko, Elena Guseva
Pinkerton - Nikolay Erokhin, Nazhmiddin Mavlyanov, Dmitry Polkopin
Sharples - Andrey Baturkin, Anatoly Loshak, Evgeny Polikanin, Alexey Shishlyaev
Suzuki - Natalia Vladimirskaya, Ksenia Dudnikova, Ella Feiginova
Goro - Evgeny Lieberman, Vyacheslav Marutaev, Valery Mikitsky
Bonza - Felix Kudryavtsev, Vladimir Sistov
Commissioner - Mikhail Golovushkin, Ilya Pavlov
Prince Yamadori - Felix Kudryavtsev, Victor Moiseikin
Kat Pinkerton - Larisa Andreeva, Veronika Vyatkina, Ella Feiginova
Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly was written in 1903, after the composer traveled to London and visited the Prince of York's Theatre. At that time, the play “Geisha” by the American writer-playwright Belasco was on stage. The background to the appearance of this performance goes back to 1887, when J. Long's story about the unhappy love of a Japanese priestess of entertainment, a geisha named Cio-Cio-san, was written. This sad story formed the basis for the production of “Geisha” and then “Madama Butterfly”. The plot of the opera exactly repeats the story of tragic fate young Japanese woman.
Score and libretto
Giacomo Puccini was shocked by the content of the play and, returning to Milan, he began writing the score, having previously enlisted the support of two of his friends, the librettists of the La Scala theater Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica. The composer had a burning desire to create a bright work that could become a masterpiece in the world of opera. It must be said that his ambitions were quite natural, because the composer already had such works as “Tosca” and “La Boheme” written earlier.
Illika and Giacosa wrote the libretto in the shortest possible time, and the future opera itself was called “Madama Butterfly,” which means “butterfly lady.” However, Giacomo Puccini himself, as a result of his passion for motor sports, soon suffered in an accident, which put him to bed for a long time. Work on the score had to be interrupted. After some time, the composer resumed work, but it progressed slowly.
Premiere
The opera "Madama Butterfly", the plot of which was full of tragedy, was written by Giacomo Puccini at the end of 1903. The premiere of the play took place on February 17, 1904 at the La Scala Theater in Milan. Contrary to expectations, the opera "Madama Butterfly", the plot of which, it would seem, could not leave anyone indifferent, was received by the public without enthusiasm. The reason for the failure of the performance was that the action was too drawn out, the audience got bored, and by the end of the second act they began to disperse altogether.
Criticism of “Madama Butterfly” was also negative, reviews in newspapers were full of words: “not imaginative,” “boring, “boring.” Giacomo Puccini was depressed, but did not give up. The composer took into account all the shortcomings of the performance, divided the overly prolonged action of the production into three equal parts, the libretto became noticeably livelier, events began to develop with sufficient speed, the opera took the form that the audience especially liked - predictable, expected actions of the characters, but with a certain intrigue.
The libretto of the new performance was almost completely rewritten. The authors expanded the image of the maid Suzuki, she became a more characteristic heroine. During Pinkerton's absence, Cio-Cio-san became close to the maid, their relationship became similar to friendship. The role of the main character's mother also became more significant.
Success of the play
In May 1904 it was published new production. This time, the public liked the play "Madama Butterfly", the plot of which was radically updated. Critics also responded positively. After several performances at La Scala, Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly began a triumphant march through European theaters. Later the production will be successfully staged in America.
Opera "Madama Butterfly": summary
The play is based on the story of the unhappy love of a young Japanese woman named Cio-Cio-san. The opera "Madama Butterfly", the plot of which reveals all the ugliness of human meanness, is built on the suffering of a cruelly deceived innocent girl.
Marine lieutenant, American Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton is in a love affair with a geisha named Cio-Cio-san, nicknamed "Butterfly". He is going to marry a girl and swears to her eternal love. In fact, the young rake started a dishonest game. In a conversation with the American consul Sharples, he confesses his intentions to him. The fact is that, according to American law, a marriage entered into in Japan does not have legal force in the United States, and Pinkerton intends to use this circumstance to his advantage. Having married Cio-Cio-san, he, in fact, remains a free man.
Sharpless condemns Benjamin's actions and appeals to his decency. However, for Pinkerton it is more important to establish himself as a kind of conqueror of women's hearts, to defeat a defenseless girl and use her love for his self-affirmation. At the same time, the officer’s honor and upbringing do not allow Benjamin to simply abandon Cio-Cio-san; he tries to observe the rules of decency. However, he never manages to do this.
Love Cio-Cio-san
On long evenings the lovers sat in the tea room. Cio-Cio-san tells Pinkerton that her father was a noble but poor samurai. So she had to become a geisha and entertain visitors. But now that love has come, life has taken on a new meaning, she is ready, for the sake of her beloved Benjamin Pinkerton, to renounce her religion and accept Christianity. One of the girl’s closest relatives finds out about this and tries to dissuade her from taking a rash step. The girl does not want to listen to anything, she is blinded by love.
Pinkerton's marriage and departure
Pinkerton marries Cio-Cio-san, a year later she gives birth to a son. The couple live together for some time, and then the husband leaves for America, leaving his wife with a child in her arms under the supervision of a maid named Suzuki. In the USA naval officer accepts honors, attends military clubs and makes new friends. Pinkerton does not remember his wife, who remained in Japan. Meanwhile, Prince Yamadori is wooing her. A noble Japanese man sincerely loves a girl, confesses this to her and proposes to her. Sharpless tries to help him, who accidentally finds out about the matchmaking. In response, Cio-Cio-san points to his son and makes it clear that the boy needs his own father.
Return of Pinkerton
Three years have passed since Benjamin left Japan. Cio-Cio-san is still waiting for her husband to arrive, she has cried all her tears, but hopes for happiness in the future. The young woman shares her experiences with Suzuki, convincing the faithful maid that her husband is about to arrive. She, in turn, tries to support and console her. The little son is growing up, the loving mother is happy to watch the baby play and the only thing that worries her is the long absence of her husband.
Meanwhile, Pinkerton takes advantage of the legal freedom granted to him by American laws and marries his compatriot named Kat. He then writes a letter to Sharples to inform Cio-Cio-san about his new marriage. However, the consul does not dare to tell the girl the truth. Soon a cannon shot is heard, an American ship has arrived at the port of Nagasaki. Pinkerton is on board the ship with his new wife. Cio-Cio-san, in anxious anticipation, suspecting nothing, decorates the house and yard with flowers.
Tragic ending
Benjamin appears arm in arm with Kat, and with them the consul. Cio-Cio-san is shocked, she understood everything. The young woman gives her son to Pinkerton, and her hand is already clutching a small dagger under her kimono. Then she retires to her room, hastily closes all the windows and stabs herself in the chest with a dagger. At this moment, Pinkerton, Kat, Sharpless and Suzuki enter with a boy in their arms. The dying "Butterfly" makes gestures with the last of her strength to take care of her son.
"Chio-Chio-san" in America
Opera "Madama Butterfly" summary And cast which were presented in advance in the US press, created a sensation on Broadway. American theater audiences warmly welcomed touching story about pure girlish love. The play lasted several seasons and became one of the most successful under the name "Chio-Chio-san". theatrical productions of that time. Sometimes the posters said "Madama Butterfly". The opera, whose characters evoked ambiguous feelings in the audience, kept them in suspense from beginning to end. After the end of the performance, the audience greeted the performers standing.
Main characters
- Madame Butterfly - soprano;
- Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton - tenor;
- Suzuki - mezzo-soprano;
- Kat Pinkerton - mezzo-soprano:
- Sharples - baritone;
- Prince Yamadori - baritone;
- Uncle Bonza - bass;
- Commissioner - bass;
- Kuzina - soprano;
- Official - bass;
- Auntie - mezzo-soprano;
- Mother - mezzo-soprano;
- Goro - tenor;
The work "Madama Butterfly" (opera plot, music and libretto) has become a real masterpiece vocal art with great drama. In the person of Cio-Cio-san, images of hundreds of abandoned women with broken destinies are collected, which makes this performance relevant to this day.
Ticket prices:
Mezzanine 1200-1600 rubles
Stock 1200-1600 rubles
Parterre 2100-2300 rubles
Composer - Giacomo Puccini
Libretto - Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa
Musical director and stage conductor - Ara Karapetyan
Stage director - Lyudmila Nalyotova
Plastic director and choreographer - Irina Lychagina
Production designer - Elena Stepanova
Costume designer - Elena Stepanova
Lighting designer - Ildar Bederdinov
Characters and performers:
Conductor - Vyacheslav Volich, Felix Korobov
Cio-Cio-san - Irina Vashchenko, Elena Guseva
Pinkerton - Nikolay Erokhin, Nazhmiddin Mavlyanov
Sharples - Andrey Baturkin, Evgeny Polikanin, Alexey Shishlyaev
Suzuki - Natalia Vladimirskaya, Veronica Vyatkina, Ksenia Dudnikova, Ella Feiginova
Goro - Evgeny Liberman, Valery Mikitsky
Bonza - Felix Kudryavtsev, Vladimir Sistov
Commissioner - Mikhail Golovushkin, Kirill Kapachinskikh
Prince Yamadori - Felix Kudryavtsev, Stanislav Lee
Kat Pinkerton - Veronica Vyatkina, Ella Feiginova, Anastasia Khoroshilova
"Madama Butterfly" is a work as beautiful as it is tragic. This opera has long and firmly taken its place at the Stanislavsky Musical Theater. “Madama Butterfly” is one of the most outstanding performances of the group. In the 2001-2002 season. the production was awarded prestigious award « Golden mask"and also individual awards were awarded to production director Lyudmila Naletova, artist Elena Stepanova and the artist performing the main vocal part - Olga Guryakova. It is natural that tickets for the performance are so popular. Every fan of theater in general and opera in particular should hear this unique creation of Giacomo Puccini at least once. Each spectator leaves after the performance with tears of admiration in his eyes and a pang in his chest. Can't leave anyone indifferent dramatic story love, masterfully embodied by the musicians and soloists of the Stanislavsky Theater.
The plot of the tragic opera “Madama Butterfly” tells us about an American naval officer, Franklin Pinkerton, who entered into a marriage with the Japanese woman Cio-Cio-Chan. Franklin Pinkerton becomes infatuated with a beautiful young geisha while his ship is stopped off the coast of Nagasaki. A girl with a cute nickname Butterfly (Butterfly) is charming, pure creation. She fell in love with an American with all her heart, changed her religion for his sake, and was forced to come to terms with the fact that her relatives disowned her. However, for Americans at that time, a temporary union with a woman in a foreign land was commonplace. Some time later, Pinkerton returns to his homeland, and Cio-Cio-Chan is faithfully waiting for him and raising her son alone. She views marriage completely differently than Pinkerton. For Butterfly, the marriage vow is something unshakable, indestructible, sacred. Years pass, and Franklin actually comes to Japan again... only he brings his American wife with him, and wants to take his son from the Japanese woman with him. Cio-Cio-San cannot refuse her husband. She says goodbye to the child and to her own life...
