Madame Butterfly

Madame Butterfly

            The acclaimed and simultaneously controversial masterpiece, “Madame Butterfly,” has continued to evade and captivate audiences the world over, due to its brutal subject matter and due to modern interpretations of the famed classic that have since followed. The opera was originally written in 1903 by composer Giacomo Puccini, who decided to work on production for an opera after watching a London performance about a Japanese woman’s tragic love story to an American sailor, and her eventual end. Although Puccini could not speak English, he was very touched by the performance that he immediately requested rights to the opera and began working on what was to become the opera the world knows today, as “Madame Butterfly” (Schwarm and Cantoni, 2018). “Madame Butterfly,” is a harsh story of first love, loss, betrayal, and exploitation. It is a cruel coming of age tale that has many critics asking if the story is in fact less of a theatrical masterpiece about lost love, and more an unsightly tale glorifying yellow fever and the degradation of women for the male gaze and their consequent sexual gratification (Miskimmon).

            Audiences who first viewed “Madame Butterfly,” were not at all emotionally moved for Butterfly’s character or sympathetic to her plight, as Puccini was. Rather, audience members behaved very crudely, laughing and ridiculing Butterfly during an apparent scene that hinted at her marital consummation with her Naval husband, Pinkerton. Instead of viewing this moment as a sad loss of innocence for Butterfly to an undeserving man who wanted nothing but to thwart his toxic masculinity on a poor orphaned teenage girl who believed her union was in fact sanctioned and valid, viewers took the scene to be nothing more than an erotic display between an “exotic feminine mystique,” and a commendably macho man (Miskimmon).

While watching this opera, I was surprised at the apparent lack of Asian representation within the actual work. Although there have been Madame Butterfly characters portrayed by members of the Asian community, there were several renditions in which the leading lady was not in fact Asian. I found this to be quite troubling and perhaps an added incentive for critics to dismiss “Madame Butterfly,” for nothing more than a toxic fetishization of Asian women and Asian culture. Although I can understand where such critics are coming from, as a young Asian woman, I look up to this production because there are so few opportunities in the performing arts for a specifically Asian woman or Asian man to be the leading principal. As a little girl with a passion for theatre and a deep love for music, “Madame Butterfly” and “Miss Saigon,” a consequent musical inspired by the opera, “Madame Butterfly,” inspired me. I was even more in awe when the renowned Filipina artist, Lea Salonga, took to the stage and performed as the lead role, Kim, in “Miss Saigon.” In my opinion, to silence these harsh criticisms about the validity of “Madame Butterfly” as a truly masterful piece, Asian representation must be given consideration during casting decisions. 

            The rendition I saw of this opera had incredible set design. The performance was held on a long stage with plenty of room for actors and set pieces to be used; however, there was only one main set piece, Butterfly’s home. This I would suspect would be because audience members are experiencing the events that take place through Butterfly’s perspective. We see how things unfold in her world, her life. Although this piece is not entirely limited to just Butterfly’s personal thoughts, much of what the audience sees are pivotal events happening directly to her. The audience knows Pinkerton is not serious about his union to Butterfly, but she remains unaware of this fact. This adds to the tension and emotional appeal of the work itself. The mise en scene was simplistic and visually exciting. Most of the opera was dark, dim, and mysterious. To make the scene more realistic, the house in which Butterfly lived had its own light fixtures inside, and it was constructed in such a way as to make the viewer believe it was in fact a real house with rooms and compartments. Additionally, the stage included props such as long, slender blades of grass lining the edge of the stage, almost as if to invite viewers into the world of “Madame Butterfly.” I believe the placement of the grass was essential to suspension of disbelief.

            “Madame Butterfly” made great use of technology. For instance, the lighting choices that were made. A seasoned and observant viewer would note how during dramatic scenes, bluer hued lights were used to play up the drama of the scene, while bright yellow lights were used to highlight happier events during the play, reflecting the feelings of the opera’s central characters. Definitive light choices allow the audience members to be a part of the scene and register the proper emotions at the right time. A less obvious role technology played a part in, would be the sliding doors used in Madame Butterfly’s home. This may seem trivial at first glance, but upon further observation, one may come to realize and appreciate just how important a detail like that can be in a production. Theatrical performances are a collection of small, deliberate artistic choices that can determine between the phenomenal and otherwise mediocre. Sliding doors add to the realism portrayed in the opera. The fact that the doors slide suggests that the house we are watching could really exist somewhere. It suggests that this may be more than wallpaper and wooden beams because audiences can fill in the rest of the arbitrary details such a house may possess.

“Madame Butterfly” holds an important place in the chronological history of opera because of its duality. It is for some, one-part fetishism and other part naivety, but for others, its controversy is what makes it so enduring. As with all other works of art, there are many ways to view this opera. Perhaps, it is a poor portrayal of lost love in today’s enlightened society and social changes, but when it was written, it was created almost explicitly to depict the hurt of being a woman in love. This opera has been such an inspiration for other artists that its story lives on in its popular adaptation, “Miss Saigon,” and in many other works. “Madame Butterfly” even became the namesake for a true to life story about a French diplomat unwittingly falling in love with, and being deceived by, a male Chinese spy. The controversy surrounding the plot and its relevancy today are what make this masterpiece so memorable.

If I were to create a video game based off this opera, I would make the game a simulation where the individual playing could react to events happening in the game that all originated from the opera. For example, in the game, the player would be Madame Butterfly and have the autonomy to make decisions based off dialogue exchanged by other characters. Each choice would then proceed with a different series of chain reactions for the player to explore. The wonderful part of this game would be that no one experience would be the same because the player is given the freedom to choose.

In conclusion, “Madame Butterfly” has solidified its place in opera and artistic history not only for its beautiful music, but for its controversial story line. It is an opera about love and heartbreak. Today the world still views this piece with skepticism and reservation, but in my opinion, there is more to “Madame Butterfly” than what meets the eye. It is a commentary on human emotion and our universal plights in love. Moreover, it describes so well the sting of first love, from the joys and delights of the honeymoon stage, to the despair of abandonment. Madame Butterfly is not a weak character, although I will admit that she does fit the stereotypical female character written by a male through his ideas about what being a woman was like. Despite all this, what makes this opera so appealing is how human all its characters are. From the selfish Naval officer, Pinkerton, the greedy marriage broker, Goro, and finally the young and inexperienced Butterfly, all of Puccini’s characters are shockingly relatable and if nothing else, human.

Works Cited

1.      Miskimmon, Annilese. “Sex, Betrayal, Suicide: Is Madama Butterfly too Sordid to Stage

Today?”. The Guardian. 2018. Guardian News. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jun/05/metoo-madama-butterfly-puccini-geisha-opera-women-exploitation. 12 September 2018.

2.      Schwarm, Betsy, and Cantoni, Linda. “Madama Butterfly.” Encyclopaedia Britannica.

2018. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Madama-

Butterfly.  12 September 2018.