Lyric Opera 2025-2026 Issue 9 - Madama Butterfly

21 | Lyric Opera of Chicago Europe, including Keita Asari’s stylized production at La Scala in 1986 and Yoshishige (Kiju) Yoshida’s experimental staging set in postwar Nagasaki for Opéra de Lyon in 1990. Originally co-commissioned by Cincinnati Opera, Detroit Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, and Utah Opera, this Butterfly is also part of a group of innovative stagings by Asian and Asian American directors that have emerged in recent seasons. These productions introduced non- speaking roles, depicted Trouble as an adult man, relocated the setting, and even had Cio-Cio-San performed as a puppet. These dislocations (and Ozawa’s) may be seen at least in part as responses to the ghosts of anti-Asian sentiments that surfaced, unexpectedly and violently, during and after the pandemic. Especially notable also in Ozawa’s production is the collaborative approach he took to develop a visually stunning and intellectually engaging staging that seeks to challenge the status quo while maintaining the musical integrity of the opera. Ozawa first assembled a team of female artists of Japanese origins — Kimie Nishikawa from dots (set designer), Maiko Matsushima (costume designer), and Yuki Nakase Link (lighting designer) —who have experience working in both Japan and the United States. The collaborators initially struggled to forge a narrative in which they could see their lived experiences as Japanese women reflected in the character of Cio-Cio-San. They ultimately determined that, rather than endowing the figure of Madama Butterfly with realism, they would engage directly with the premise that she is a fictional character — one created by a group of European and American men. Forgoing the concerns about authenticity that had been central for earlier generations of Japanese artists, they foreground the artificiality of Puccini and his collaborators’ vision of Japan. The result retains the familiar musical sumptuousness of the opera, but in neon- tinged light and with costumes inspired by contemporary Japanese pop culture. Interestingly, presenting the opera as a virtual reality game also brings about a transformation of Pinkerton. While “traditional rendition of the opera has the American naval officer as a villain of sorts,” Ozawa points out, his production reveals that the officer, too, is a victim of societal structure, “taught to love the fantasy version of Japanese people.” Pinkerton comes to a world of Madama Butterfly that has already been created to satisfy his desires. As the bright visual elements of the production mesmerize Pinkerton deeper into his escapist fantasy, we too become engrossed in Puccini’s fictional world. At the same time, the juxtaposition of the techno- Orientalist visuals with Puccini’s familiar score has the potential to move audiences toward a kind of critical distance from the work — one that does not have to detract from but can contribute to an enriched understanding of the lasting relevance of Madama Butterfly , well more than a century after its creation. In this production, audience members who have historically struggled to come to terms with the opera’s casual, unthinking racism (often evident in ill-advised makeup and exaggerated shuffling and bowing), will see even Cio-Cio-San experience a transformation — an answer of sorts to the longing felt by many Asian women, past and present, to liberate themselves from a confining narrative of loss, self-sacrifice, and shame. This production, then, provides us with opportunities to reflect on desires, fears, and hopes that are unique to our time — to help us make sense of the world we live in. Kunio Hara is Associate Professor of Music History at the University of South Carolina. His most recent publication on Puccini, “The Racial Politics of Madama Butterfly and Turandot ” is included in Puccini in Context (2023). Philip Groshong / Cincinnati Opera The wedding scene demonstrates this production’s bold color scheme and set design. -