Madama Butterfly review – beauty and tragedy take flight

In 2003, directorial duo Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier introduced their straightforward staging of Puccini’s Japanese tragedy to the Royal Opera House, where it has been a regular ever since. Now, thoughtfully revived by Justin Way, its virtues of visual simplicity and narrative clarity shine out.

But a good deal of the impact of this particular revival lies in the strength of its cast, whose two principals will change later in the run. On the first night, Latvian soprano Kristine Opolais returned to the long and arduous role of Cio-Cio-San. She paced it well, leaving plenty of tone for the crucial final scene, even if earlier her climactic phrases seemed underpowered; but the focused detail of both her singing and her acting made her a decisive and authoritative geisha.

Pinkerton, too, made an unusually strong impression, performed by American tenor Brian Jagde. New to the Royal Opera, his resplendent singing, with a real ring to the top of his voice, gave his anti-romantic lead personality, while his final (and literal) running away from his responsibilities provided an unforgettable image.

Enkelejda Shkosa repeated her considered Suzuki, a finely voiced study in quasi-maternal loyalty, while Gabriele Viviani’s worldly-wise but helplessly ineffectual Sharpless was delivered in his rich and sonorous baritone. The secondary roles – Carlo Bosi’s venal Goro, Yuriy Yurchuk’s haughty Yamadori and Jeremy White’s terrifying Bonze – all fitted perfectly into the larger picture.

Conductor Nicola Luisotti took charge of the evening: he set off at a furious pace and drew fibrous textures from the orchestra while retaining flexibility of tempo as the mood constantly changed. As with Christian Fenouillat’s designs, this was a beautiful-sounding Butterfly, one that also emphasised the emotional pain at its core.