17th February: Madame Butterfly

On 17 February 1904 Giacomo Puccini's Opera Madame Butterfly was poorly received at its world première at La Scala. It went on to become an opera classic, though, and here are ten things you might not know about it.

1. Madam Butterfly, often referred to as Madama Butterfly, is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.
2. It is based on the short story Madame Butterfly, written in 1898 by John Luther Long. This story, in turn, was based on the semi-autobiographical 1887 French novel Madame Chrysanthème by Pierre Loti, which Long's sister used to tell him stories about.
3. Before it was an opera, it was a one act play by David Belasco, called Madame Butterfly: A Tragedy of Japan. The play premièred in New York in 1900, and afterwards moved to London. Puccini saw it there in the summer of that year and was inspired to write an opera based on it.
4. So what's the plot? It's set in 1904 Nagasaki, when a US naval officer called Pinkerton is about to marry a 15 year old Japanese girl called Ciocio-san. It's a marriage of convenience for him, as he intends to leave her and marry an American woman as soon as he can. Ciocio-san, however, sees it as much more than that - she's even converted to Christianity ahead of her marriage. Her family renounce her when they find out she has done that. Soon after the wedding, Pinkerton leaves her in their home and goes back to America, promising he will come back. He's left her pregnant, of course, and she is determined to wait for him, despite her maid and the marriage broker insisting he won't come back. Pinkerton has, meanwhile, married an American woman called Kate. In due course, Ciocio-san has a son, who she names Sorrow. Three years later, Pinkerton writes to say he is returning - his wife, Kate, has agreed to adopt Ciocio-san's child. Ciocio-san is so excited to hear he is coming back that her maid and the American Consul who delivers the letter, cannot bear to tell her the whole truth. When Pinkerton sees how Ciocio-san has decorated the house for his return he is filled with remorse, but still a cowardly rat fink, he can't face her and gets his wife and the Consul to break the news to Ciocio-san; who prays to her old gods, leaves her son blindfolded at the altar with an American Flag in his hand, and commits suicide.
5. In case you're wondering what any of this has to do with Butterflies, Ciocio-san means "Butterfly" in Japanese.
6. Some tunes in the opera may sound familiar - the American National Anthem is used throughout as a musical theme to represent Pinkerton; and the Humming Chorus sounds a bit like Bring Him Home from Les Miserables which is well known for being heavily influenced by Puccini’s work.
7. It's one of the most popular operas in the world now, but that wasn't the case at the 1904 première. The audience hated it, and made bird, cow, and goat calls as well as booing. Even having some of the top opera singers of the time in the cast didn't help. Why should this be? Opera scholars think it was because Puccini finished writing it late, leaving little time for the cast to rehearse properly.
8. After this mega-flop, Puccini revised the opera four times, up until 1907 when he completed the fifth version, the version most often performed today. The original 1904 version is occasionally performed.
9. There is a memorial to Puccini and also Tamaki Miura, a singer who won international fame for her performances as Cio-Cio-san, in the Glover Garden in Nagasaki.
10. As well as parts of Les Miserables, Madam Butterfly has a wider influence. Miss Saigon is directly based on the story of Madama Butterfly; and its influence is also apparent in the film Fatal Attraction starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close. Not only does the soundtrack include parts of the opera, but an alternate ending of the film shows Alex committing suicide like Cio-Cio-San, to Un bel dì - the opera's most famous aria. Its influence even extends into the punk scene - The Sex Pistols released a single called Madama Butterfly which features vocals of both Pinkerton and Cio-Cio-San.

I Write Fiction, Too!

More details about my books. Follow this link if you like Superheroes, Psychics and/or quirky short stories. 

I've listed the themes each novel touches on here for easy reference.

Like my author page on Facebook for news on new books and blog posts.

Follow me on Twitter and Pinterest

Check out my Writing blog