A remarkable ‘Madame Butterfly’

Giacomo Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly” is among the world’s most popular operas, yet, in many ways, it’s a tough opera to love.

While Puccini’s music is magnificent, it’s used to tell a pretty discomfiting story: An American naval officer marries a 15-year-old Japanese girl in Nagasaki. Part of her family shuns her, while the rest are driven away by the officer, who subsequently abandons her, sails for America and marries again while the girl slowly runs out of food and money while awaiting his return.

Yet the Minnesota Opera’s production does so many things right that the work’s problematic premise is well worth overlooking. With acting and design ideas that demonstrate both respect and affection for Japanese tradition, it’s a staging full of insight. And soprano Kelly Kaduce delivers such a tour de force as the title character that she alone makes this a production well worth experiencing.

The opera is so popular that two sets of leads are alternating over the course of this production’s eight performances in nine days. And you shouldn’t only plan on going if Kaduce is performing, for the other cast (performing April 18, 20 and 22) has some tremendous talent in it, with Yunah Lee carrying a reputation as a “Butterfly” specialist.

But Kaduce so fully inhabits the character of Cio-Cio-San and makes each aria and duet so heart-rendingly beautiful that you’ll likely marvel at her mastery of the role. You’ll rarely encounter this character presented as such a convincing teenage girl, for Kaduce makes her outgoing, impetuous and immature, playful yet dignified, seemingly fragile but ruggedly resilient. It’s quite a remarkable performance.

The opening night cast featured Arturo Chacon-Cruz as a Lt. Pinkerton with a pure, powerful tenor voice that could almost inspire you to forgive him for being such a spineless cad. And Levi Hernandez brought impressive emotional layering to both his singing and acting as the conflicted consul, Sharpless.

The Minnesota Opera originally offered this staging seven seasons ago, but what seemed like tentatively executed ideas then are receiving the full measure of the cast’s commitment this time. Its original director, Colin Graham, is the one who advocated borrowing as many movements from the kabuki tradition as would fit, and they really work in this production, never seeming overly stylized. And they’re complemented perfectly by Neil Patel’s simple set of sliding screens and telescoping scarlet proscenium arches.

The company’s new music director, Michael Christie, shapes the blend of voices and orchestra impressively, never allowing listeners to forget that Puccini is the ultimate star of this show.

What: The Minnesota Opera’s production of “Madame Butterfly” by Giacomo Puccini

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, April 17-21; 2 p.m. Sunday, April 22

Where: Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, 345 Washington St., St. Paul

Tickets: $200-$18, available at 612-333-6669 or mnopera.org

Capsule: A simple yet beautiful production, expertly executed.