“Madama Butterfly” is the great miracle of opera. Its enduring popularity contradicts every small insult we like to throw at contemporary audiences.
That they have a short attention span; “Butterfly” lasts three, long hours.
That they crave happy endings; hara-kiri, not happy.
That they need special effects; Opera Colorado’s current production has just one set, a few lighting adjustments and hardly any whiz bang save for one scene where it rains flower pedals over a house set atop a steep hill near Nagasaki harbor.
Saturday’s opening night at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House was sold out. The $160 seats gone and the $20 ones, too. Tragedy has wide appeal it seems, and so does Puccini.
But even for Puccini, “Butterfly” is a slow dance and, still, it’s one of the top five or ten operas performed internationally every year.
This version explains it. The piece is a showcase for that thing opera lovers love most, a talented soprano who can carry herself proudly and and do herself in with bloody passion. Chinese singer Xiu Ying Li wins over the crowd through sheer perseverance.
Her voice is rich and bright, special, though wholly vulnerable. Unlike those too-perfect sopranos who make it look easy, you get the sense she works hard for her delivery.
Yet, she exudes confidence, and she better. “Butterfly” suffers much indignity as she is married to, then abandoned by, a callous American naval officer. In the face of doom, the libretto calls her to deliver the aria “Un bel dì,” a sunny conjuring of the “One good day” when her husband will return. Li pulls it off with ease; it’s a memorable moment.
As for the heartless American, he’s personified by Dinyar Vania soundly enough to illicit a few boos at the curtain call. They’re jeers of love, of course, and he deserves them. His voice is impressive, top to bottom, and the leads complement each other well.
In nearly every way, this is a conventional production. Director Keturah Stickann and conductor Ari Pelto direct their musicians with little obstruction of opera’s primary ideas.
There’s a current edge to it, but no trickery. They trust the audience as much as they trust Puccini. This one is for the traditionalists.
“Madama Butterfly” continues through Nov. 23, at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Denver Performing Arts Complex. $22-157. Tickets and info: 303-468-2030 or operacolorado.org.
Ray Mark Rinaldi: 303-954-1540, rrinaldi@denverpost.com or twitter.com/rayrinaldi
