3rd Opera Assignment

The 3^rd opera assignment was to watch an opera from 1920 or before 1920. Although I found one that I thought was interesting, The Excursions of Mr. Brouček to the Moon and to the 15th Century, I could not find video footage of it, so I opted to watch the Madame Butterfly footage that was provided. The story is very much like the stop-motion adaption, however, there are some differences at the end and beginning.

It opens with lovers Madame Butterfly and Officer Pinkerton, set on the island of Japan. They are to be married soon, and a great crowd approaches to celebrate their marriage with song and dance. These guests contrast greatly with previous actors, who have been in all white. The stage is also white, so they stand out that way as well. Anyways, the marriage proceeds as planned, until an uninvited guest comes barging in. He knows something about Butterfly that the guests don’t know – that she has abandoned Buddhism for Christianity to better understand American culture before marriage, as Pinkerton is American. This news doesn’t sit well with her guests, who leave in disgust. This saddens both Pinkerton and Butterfly, and they sing a heartfelt duet together. However, their time together is cut short. Pinkerton must sail away, leaving Butterfly to live alone in their new home. She sings him off, thus ending the first act.

The second act ends some time later. Time is shown to pass by a tree that has been planted in the spot where Butterfly waves Pinkerton goodbye. It has been years since Pinkerton has been seen last. Butterfly’s friend Suzuki wants Butterfly to move on, and a man involved with her marriage, Goro, also desires her to get married again. But now, she has given birth to Pinkerton’s child. Their son represents their connection and she doesn’t want to give her love for him up. More time passes, and eventually Butterfly gets news that Pinkerton is coming back to Japan! She is very excited about this news. She watches for the boat along with Suzuki and her son. Suzuki and the child fall asleep, but Butterfly stays awake all night. This marks the ending of act two.

Act three is shorter than the rest. Pinkerton returns, but he has a new wife now. Her name is Kate, and she only wanted to come to raise the child as her own. Butterfly is distraught. She loves Pinkerton, but she also loves her child. She makes a decision, giving up her child so that Pinkerton would stay with her. But, this proves to further tear her soul. She feels as if she has dishonored herself by giving up her child. In this vein, she decides to die with honor, committing suicide. This final act is the end of the story.

The stop-motion adaption did not portray the scene where the man reveals that Butterfly has changed her religion, or any of the marriage. It begins with a scene of Butterfly and Pinkerton in love. Suzuki and Goro are also not anywhere in the stop-motion one. I think that their characters add conflict to the story, and although the story can be told without them, their inclusion adds an extra layer of depth to the inner turmoil of Butterfly at that time. On one hand, she has Pinkerton’s son, and she still has feelings for Pinkerton. But, at the same time, it has been years since he has been seen, and if she stays true she will be alone for the rest of her life. Another difference between the stop-motion adaption is that in that version, her child is forcibly taken away from her. In the real thing, Butterfly chooses to give her child away in the hopes of being closer to Pinkerton.

I enjoyed watching this story a second time, as the opera had more details to make it stand out from the other adaption. The songs, also being longer and having words, had more depth to them.