Wow !!! Opera lovers cannot go wrong with this gorgeous film adaptation of Puccini's Madame Butterfly. In every detail big and small, it's the closest version to Puccini's original vision. Authentic period costumes, a real Japanese/Asian cast (and not European men and women in Kabuki make-up), a virtuosic cast and sexy lead singers. The actual filming took place in Nagasaki Japan. Breathtaking and beautiful scenery of rustic villages, springtime and the sea add up to a gorgeous cinematic masterpiece. Some purists hate operas on film. The stage is the only place for opera, is their mentality. However, operas transcribed to film is a wonderful experience, which actually encourages viewers to seek out a stage performance. On film, the emotional core and dramatic content is enhanced. We see subtle things, through close-ups and visuals, little things we might not understand on stage. The story of Madama Butterfly was taken from a Belasco play around the turn of the century (1900-1919). Some of the aspects may seem racist (the Japanese characters, Madame Butterfly included, seem one-dimensional, stereotypical and flat figures along the lines of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operetta The Mikado) and the portrayal of Americans as arrogant, materialistic, and callous is not always appropriate. However, the fact that Puccini portrayed the tenor hero, B.F. Pinkerton, as a love'em and leave em' kind of guy, as well as a coward and deceiver, only serves to bring out Madame Butterfly's tragic situation and suffering. It is a story about how the naive young girl foolishly abandons her family and ancestral faith, blindly in love with a man who cares nothing for her other than a one-time adventure and fling. Of course, the tragic part is that to Butterfly, it was serious enough to commit suicide. Ying Huang, with a light, "young" lyric coloratura voice aptly portrays the naive ex-Geisha. Most Butterfly's have been dramatic sopranos with heavier voices, but in Ying Huang we get the real thing. Richard Troxell as Pinkerton is right on the money. He's handsome, seemingly romantic but really a jerk. This is a great film and it's highly recommended.
Review of Madame Butterfly
