Oh Cio-Cio San! Madama Butterfly a coup for Perth Festival

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This was published 9 years ago

Oh Cio-Cio San! Madama Butterfly a coup for Perth Festival

By Candice Barnes

Puppets... in an opera? It might be a break from the traditional telling of Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly, but opera lovers who keep an open mind will be richly rewarded.

This incarnation was originally directed by British playwright Anthony Minghella, who is perhaps best known for his Oscar-winning efforts on The English Patient.

Soprano Mary Plazas stars in the title role of Madama Butterfly.

Soprano Mary Plazas stars in the title role of Madama Butterfly.Credit: Robert Piwko

His take has been revived by Sarah Tipple and, like Minghella's original, stars English soprano Mary Plazas in the title role.

It's a coup for the Perth International Arts Festival, who managed to snag this acclaimed piece in an Australian exclusive.

The production was visually striking from the get-go. The petite Plazas rose in silhouette against a bright red backdrop and performed a delicate Japanese dance.

Plazas is the very definition of a triple threat. Of course, her singing was world-class, but her dancing was both graceful and precise.

She brought a girlish charm as the 15-year-old Cio-Cio San in Act One, where the blushing bride throws caution to the wind and is scorned by her family after marrying American naval officer Pinkerton.

Here is where the puppeteers, dressed in dark fabrics and faces obscured, had their first moment to shine. They manoeuvred two minor characters, both with non-speaking roles, into a deep bow as they were introduced as "Ray of Rising Sun" and "Sweet Aromas".

At the Butterfly's side was her maid and confidant Suzuki, played by Maria Zifchak. Her voice was an excellent complement to Plazas' while her motherly demeanour teetered between hopeful and helpless during aria Un bel dì in Act Two.

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The ensemble of singers and dancers made a number of appearances, but none of them seemed to drag like dance sequences in opera sometimes do. Each were dressed in rich fabrics which caught the light and wooshed gracefully at every step.

The first heartbreak came during Due cose potrei far, when Cio-Cio San introduced her young son to the Consul, Sharpless.

Rather than go through the rigmarole of casting a two-year-old for such a high-profile production, the puppeteers were brought in once more to bring the toddler to life.

The little one sort of reminded me of that creepy little doll EC from children's TV series Lift Off, but was strangely cute in the way it moved and cuddled into others. No wonder the puppeteers got such a rapturous applause at the end.

The final death scene was tastefully done and not quite as shocking or dramatic as in other productions of Madama Butterfly. Swathes of red transparent fabric signalled that the deed had been done and Pinkerton's expression upon finding Butterfly said it all.

The audience booed Adam Diegel during curtain call, but not because his performance was bad. In fact, he was so exceptionally good at playing absent husband and all-round gutless wonder Pinkerton that a negative response after such an emotional finale could not be helped.

If you're an opera lover, it doesn't get much better than this.

Madama Butterfly will run at His Majesty's Theatre until 7 March.

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