- Opera
- 1 sep – 4 oct 2018, Main Stage.
- 3 hours, including 1 interval.
-
Ensemble
Team
- Conductor
- Henrik Schaefer
- Direction
- Yoshi Oïda
- Set design
- Tom Schenk
- Costume design
- Thibault Vancraenenbroeck
- Lighting design
- Fabrice Kebour
- Assistant director
- Annika Lindqvist
- Assistant director
- Joachim Ottosson
Ensemble
- Butterfly
- Karah Son
- Suzuki
- Katarina Giotas
- Kate Pinkerton
- Ann-Kristin Jones
- Pinkerton
- Aaron Cawley
- Sharpless
- Daniel Hällström
- Goro
- Daniel Ralphsson
- Prince Yamadori
- Åke Zetterström
- The Bonze
- Jonas Landström
- The Bonze (1-15 Sept)
- Ivan Dajic
- Yakuside
- Daniel Hayes
- The Imperial Commissioner
- Thomas Jönsson
- The Official Registrar
- Herbjörn Thordarson
- Butterfly’s Mother
- Anna Blylods
- Butterfly’s Mother (27 Sept)
- Karin Hammarlund
- The child
- Estrid Henricson, Alan Zackariassen Kassell
- The aunt
- Elisabeth Persson
- The cousin
- Anna Johansson
- The cousin (21 Sep – 4 Oct)
- Anna Lilja
- Butterfly’s father
- Xi Sun
- Servants
- Simon Drangner, Rasmus Hanák, Matthew LaVoie, Jonatan Ney
- Dancer
- Kyoko Matsumoto
- The Göteborg Opera Chorus
- The Göteborg Opera Orchestra
Tickets SEK 100–655. 12 performances. Included in Weekday subcriptions and can be selected in the Your Choice subscription.
Madama Butterfly
Revival premiere for Puccinis excruciatingly beautiful opera, directed by Yoshi Oïda. A heart-rending tragedy about cultural clashes and human relationships.
A three-act opera by Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924). Libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.
Performed in Italian with surtitles in both Swedish and English.
“An absolutely astonishing performance”— GP
”Yoshi Oïdas direction is magnificent”— Radio p4 Sjuhärad
While stationed in Japan, the American naval officer Pinkerton buys himself a young wife – the geisha Madame Butterfly. For Pinkerton it is all a game, but Butterfly commits entirely to her new role as an American wife, cutting all ties to her culture and family. After their child is born, the relationship becomes a matter of life and death.
This acclaimed 2016 production has great authenticity, thanks to its director Yoshi Oïda, who grew up during the post-war colonisation of Japan by the USA. Like many others, Oïda looked up to the American soldiers and was attracted by the Western lifestyle, but had too much pride to show it, unlike his young friends.
We have chosen to present an earlier version of the work (Brescia) than the version which is more usually performed. The Brescia version is a less polite narrative that is more critical of colonialism and exoticism. The South Korean soprano Karah Son, reappears in the title role, while Irish tenor Aaron Cawley is new to the role of Pinkerton. Conducted by Henrik Schaefer, Musical Director for the Göteborg Opera Orchestra.
Introductions
Take the opportunity to learn more about the performance and get insight into the story and the background. Introductions take place either on our Small Stage or in the Opera Bar an hour before opera and dance performances (but are not held before premieres, guest performances or dance performances which have a physical introduction).
Introductions do not cost anything extra, use your performance ticket to enter. Introduction take about 20 minutes and are presented in Swedish. They are popular, so come early to make sure you get a seat!
Japanese cliché or the real thing?
Listen to the panel discussion introducing the 2016 production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. Participants: director Yoshi Oïda, conductor Manlio Benzi and soloist Jung Nan Yoon (Butterfly). Our invited guest was Yael Feiler, PhD – expert on post-colonial theory.
Göran Gademan (dramaturge) chairs the panel and the discussion is in English.
Photo gallery from the performance
Costume design sketches by Thibault Vancraenenbroeck
#GObutterfly
