Madama Butterfly - The Metropolitan Opera

[@ohmy5650]

Breathtaking Patricia Racette. Unlimited my admiration.

[@pedinurse1]

There are no 15 yr olds with this kind of training and quality of voice. Also I found the puppet to have more drama than a real child because a real child cant really act at this age. The puppeteers really gave this boy life even at the durring applause! I though it was so innovative and reminded me of the puppets used in Japan. It also made me think that the father never considered the child to be real before he came back .

[@joyce99999]

Yes, it seems there was symbolic meaning to the puppet child as well, at least that is what I thought may have been their reasoning for it. The puppeteers certainly did an excellent job, as you pointed out here.

[@harvinsky]

it's fantastic to see this highly sophisticated stage sets. men who dress black clothes are kuroko, aren't they? i once see them in kabuki theatre in Japan. the last scene is very chic!

[@YokoMariaSoprano]

WONDERFUL!!

[@DawnFurness]

It was the Minghella production that first premiered at ENO before transferring to the MET - the 'dummy in sailor suit' is one of the many uses of puppetry in this production - it is simply stunning!

[@NickGerson]

I cried at the end of this trailer!

[@chtellez]

Me too!

[@joyce99999]

i agree with some posters here....although the costumes are magnificent, the singers outstanding, and the songs beautiful, i cannot imagine this woman as a 15 year old Japanese 'innocent' girl.....

[@pedinurse1]

Thats true but there are no 15 yr olds with the training todo this. the soprano voice does not mature til at least 30yrs of age approxiamtely, and then comes the acting ability that goes with this piece

[@biancacastafiore8760]

it’s called suspension of disbelief. it’s something pertaining to theater and opera. look it up.

[@joyce99999]

Emily, I did not know that….thanks for the info. That certainly could have affected their selection for the lead role, as it is an opera. Bianca, yes, I know of and understand the concept of “suspending disbelief”, which could apply to movies as well as opera. Thanks for pointing that out.

[@bookysipod]

saw this last night(: Placido Domingo conducted it :D

[@bookysipod]

@xCountArchosX ? y feel sry lol. it was a pretty good opera and Placido was a wonderful conductor :)

[@GoetheGal]

oops...so much for my spelling :) Meant to write 'words' above.

[@LordMgls]

haha, your role, yeah - no doubts.

[@colinmcmahon5829]

Your jackets, required. Sirs..

[@MrEelyerfdog]

Patricia Racette sounds good and performs well. This production of "Madam Butterfly" looks good. A good Japanese woman opera singer would help. I guess I will have to use my imagination.

[@pedinurse1]

There is an Asian singer that the Met Opera uses, I saw her in the exact production in the transmission to theatres, she also was excellent

[@pedinurse1]

You have to meet the Met Opera standard and its quite high, Im sure there is someone aout there. I saw it also with a Chinese singer who was excellent but you will never find someone very young

[@MrEelyerfdog]

There is a Japanese woman opera singer living today, Yoko Maria I guess not all Opera singers who performed Cio-Cio-San were Japanese.

[@GoetheGal]

"good' and 'well' are 4 letter works in my book. This can be said in one 3 letter word. Bad.

[@colinmcmahon5829]

Pappillon, with the Steve or Sheryl.

[@zamandijin]

japanese

[@joyce99999]

also, the dummy kid in the sailor suit is a bit 'much'....just saying....

[@pedinurse1]

She gave up her Japanese traditions and identity for the love of this man who did not love her and considered her not worthy of being faithful, She even had the child carry an American flag. You think this kind of thing doesnt happen? I have seen this scenario in this country many times, always tragic ending. Moral, do not give up your identity for anyone in exchange for their love

[@joyce99999]

I understand what you are saying, Emily, and I know this kind of a situation does frequently happen; you are right.

[@causabon99]

I continue to be baffled by why The Met continues to employ Marcello Giordano! He's appalling. His top notes - when he manages them - are cracked. Quite simply, he couldn't carry a note in a bucket. I know there's a dearth of really good tenors, but come on!

[@causabon99]

Sorry. I meant Giordani.

[@tristanhnl]

Opera contracts, especially those at prestigious opera houses, often are signed 5+ years in advance. If you want the big names you have to sign them very early on or else they get snatched up by other houses. Giordani was actually pretty good in the first decade of the millennium. I'm guessing he signed his contracts during those years. But I agree, his voice has deteriorated significantly over the years.

[@snapperv]

Why didn't they use a real boy for the show but a very spooky looking plastic doll?

[@DopeBenedict201]

+snapperv I got to see it last week...the doll WORKED! see it one day

[@gtarules1]

lol "spooky"

[@patimuse]

Two people in black are making the doll WORK, but it's still creepy! And Lifeless & very Fake. Miss Saigon had a small real boy and was impactful, so why make it creepy when it detracts from the drama? This isn't Avenue Q's cheap Opera is it?

[@croutonwu]

@@patimuse The puppets are used because the show is too inappropriate for a real child actor. Also, using a puppet portrays Japanese culture.

[@patimuse]

​@@croutonwu Miss Saigon had scantily-clad prostitutes, car humping & also similar suicide & murder in front of a small young actor so inappropriate is lousy excuse; other MB productions had young actors too; I appreciate Japanese culture with the men in black moving props that add visual richness & puppetry can work on stage with War Horse & Equus where it's impractical to have real horses onstage following stage cues; but a mannequin child implies (visually at least) their union was unholy & diminishes their love, turning her suicide into a lesser sympathetic crazy-ex territory & from a tragedy of leaving a young alive child to welcome relief of a horror-movie escape from the curse of birthing an inanimate doll literally possessed by 2 men shrouded in shadowy black, that's Chucky

[@herrbrucvald6376]

Tired of these minimalist, ironic, spare, deconstructed, 'anti-traditional' stagings of old operas. They bring strident connotations and resonances that contradict what these operas actually are. it's not that i don't understand them----they just show no respect for the integrity of the piece. Would you stage a Giselle set in 1940's Tokyo? Leave the puppets to Bunraku and modernist drama.......

[@caseyfranco3959]

depends on the director but yeah, i agree

[@pedinurse1]

this was different though, had so many big moments, extravagant, just beautiful

[@colinmcmahon5829]

I'm British. See a Canadian when you look at me throw Impossible back before they go filmed what they swore not to say, that they made this? What do you expect breeding a sickening thing worse than an insect? What you never expected survived four deaths, and not. Sky TV, to neighbours event. Updating

[@thomasgrass6357]

I dont like her voice to heavy and soon there will be a wobble.

[@VinylToVideo]

Yikes - Looks and sounds like a terrible production. What an ego that awful Cio-Cio-San has.