LA Opera’s “Madame Butterfly” reviewed

Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly is a tragic opera in three acts, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. First performed in 1904, in this ill-fated love story we meet Cio-Cio-San, a young Japanese girl who renounces her family and traditions for an American naval officer. The opera explores themes of love, heartbreak, betrayal, and cultural differences.

Los Angeles Opera has kicked off their 2024-25 season with Giacomo Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, starring Karah Son and Jonathan Tetelman.

James Conlon conducts the score for this bold production of Butterfly, which has a number of notable features, including an updated setting. The action takes place on a 1930s Burbank movie soundstage, with stagehands visible backstage and in the wings, and with a natural landscape upstage to resemble a movie set’s backdrop. This creative staging is directed by Mario Gas, a Goya Award-winning director. While this new production does preserve a lot of the traditional elements, the cinematic experience adds an additional layer and focus.

Pictured above: Karah Son as Cio-Cio-San and Jonathan Tetelman as Pinkerton, with chorus, in LA Opera’s 2024 production of “Madame Butterfly.” (Photo: Cory Weaver)

Three performances remain, and will be staged at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, at the Music Center in Downtown LA. Purchase performance tickets here.

The cast includes:

Karah Son: soprano, as Cio-Cio-San, the opera’s tragic heroine

Jonathan Tetelman: tenor, as Pinkerton, the American naval officer

Hyona Kim: mezzo-soprano, as Suzuki, Cio-Cio-San’s maid

Michael Sumuel: baritone, as Sharpless, the American consul

Cio-Cio-San is the signature role for the Korean-born soprano Karah Son. In some promotional material published by the LA Opera, the diva explained that she had performed in approximately 22 different productions of Madame Butterfly before leading the cast of the 2024 LA Opera production.

“Each single production has its own special character and concept but this production is unique; I have never done this concept before.”

Karah Son.

A blend of a classical staging with an updated concept 1930s cinematic context, the diva describes it as traditional paired with a ‘Regietheater’ approach.

Regietheater, or “director’s theater” in German, is a theatrical practice that allows directors to reimagine a play or opera by making significant changes to the original staging. 

Karah Son was magnificent as the tragic heroine, with a memorable performance that was both deeply moving and beautifully executed. The soprano’s voice was so expressive and so impassioned, her performance seemed to penetrate your very soul. Her soprano voice displayed both strength and tenderness, capturing the innocence and fervent hopes and dreams of her innocent character. Son’s emotional depth shone through in her arias, especially in “Un bel dì vedremo,” where her expressive phrasing conveyed Cio-Cio-San’s longing and heartbreak. Jonathan Tetelman as Pinkerton was both compelling and dynamic. His vocal prowess shone through, delivering powerful and nuanced interpretations of the character’s complex emotions. Tetelman’s rich tenor brought a mix of charm and vulnerability to Pinkerton, effectively capturing his initially carefree attitude and the eventual weight of his actions.

An unusual approach with this creative staging is that the show actually begins about half an hour before the opera’s first note. Audiences who elect to take their seats early will see this mime show prior to the beginning of the performance. We see characters milling about the stage and preparing for the ‘film shoot’ that is happening throughout the production. We see the 1930s film crew preparing their cameras, checking the lights are set properly. In the wings we see the wigs and make-up artists getting organized—the audience is included in all of that behind the scenes action.

Then, there is the unique cinematic layer to the evening’s experience. As the operatic performance is underway, we can see the “movie” – as it is being filmed – projected in black and white above the supertitles. This element grants us an additional focus on the main characters, especially in the use of dramatic closeups of their faces. This projected close-up cinematography draws you into the emotional interaction between the characters.

Scenic design is fairly muted in colors, partly to serve the black & white “movie.” Only Cio-Cio-San is dressed in color, including her magnificent red-patterned matrimonial kimono. The revolving sets and all of costumes were simply gorgeous.

All in all, this cinematic concept, under the direction of Mario Gas, and the musical direction of Maestro James Conlon, proved to be a powerful interpretation of Puccini’s masterpiece.

From the press release:

Lights, camera, action: An American officer in turn-of-the-century Japan wants a bride, and a greedy marriage broker obliges, assuring him that the union can be easily dissolved. The innocent Cio-Cio-San believes they’re in love, even as Lt. Pinkerton moves on. For three years, she fights off rising debts and new suitors, refusing to believe she’s been abandoned. But when their long-awaited reunion finally arrives, the lieutenant isn’t alone—and he isn’t here for her…

Directed by the Goya Award-winning Mario Gas, this stunning Madame Butterfly gets a cinematic twist as all the action takes place on a 1930s film set. Korean soprano Karah Son reprises her signature role as Puccini’s tragic heroine trying to find her way in a world dominated by men. Tenor Jonathan Tetelman is the callous Pinkerton, with Hyona Kim as Suzuki, Cio-Cio-San’s devoted maid who sees right past his gentlemanly facade, and Michael Sumuel as Sharpless, the sympathetic American consul. James Conlon, “the most accomplished music director currently working on the podium of an American opera house” (Opera News), opens the season conducting Puccini’s poignant and unforgettable score. 

Madame Butterfly

LA Opera

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

135 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90012.

Approximate running time: two hours and 55 minutes, including one intermission.

Remaining Performance Dates:

Saturday October 5th, 7.30PM

Wednesday October 9th, 7.30PM

Sunday October 13th, 2PM (matinee)

Purchase tickets here.

Visit LAOpera.org/Butterfly for additional information.

About LA Opera:
Los Angeles is a city of enormous diversity and creativity, and LA Opera is dedicated to reflecting that vibrancy by redefining what opera can be. Through imaginative new productions, world premiere commissions, and inventive performances that preserve foundational works while making them feel fresh and compelling, LA Opera has become one of America’s most exciting and ambitious opera companies.

In addition to its mainstage performances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the company explores unusual repertoire each season through the LA Opera Off Grand initiative, featuring performances in a variety of venues throughout Los Angeles. The LA Opera Connects initiative offers a robust variety of educational programming and community engagement offerings that reaches people throughout every corner of Los Angeles County. The company also offers a multitude of online content via its LA Opera On Now digital offerings, which launched in 2020. Learn more at LAOpera.org.