Madama Butterfly

"Recommended: It seems that most successful opera productions have at least one outstanding lead singer who distinguishes the effort from estimable or from merely competent performances. That is the case here as Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho turns in an outstanding performance to make this a very special Madama Butterfly ... Her voice matches her fragility and innocence ... Her dramatic skills are impressive ... Antonio Pappano is one of the better Puccini conductors before the public today. He seems always aware of the emotional flow of the music, phrasing it to heighten its drama and beauty ... and in the end drawing excellent playing from the ROH Orchestra and fine singing from the chorus ... The production is traditional, having costuming and sets that place the story in late 19th century Japan ... So, this new Opus Arte effort from Covent Garden is my current choice for this opera on video. Even though a few cast members are good but not great, the performance by Ms. Jaho and contribution by Pappano and company elevate this effort to the status of outstanding".

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"This is a fine film of an excellent performance of Madama Butterfly ... conducted here for the first time by ... Antonio Pappano, with a strong cast. It is a traditional production, set in Nagasaki in the early 20th century ... This performance is a triumph for Ermonela Jaho. Her stage make-up and the many filmed close-ups do her no favours, as is often the case in opera, but it is her oustanding singing that matters, as well as the detail of her acting ... Pappano's reputation as a Puccini conductor stands very high ... This issue ... further bolsters his Puccinian credentials. The ROH Orchestra plays very well indeed for him".

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"Editor's choice: Ermonela Jaho, the Albanian soprano, is one of the great singing actresses of our time ... Her portrayal of the tragic Cio-Cio-San is no less moving ... Her suicide is devastating ... set before a giant branch of weeping cherry blossoms, and had me in pieces, both in the house and here on screen. Jaho's vocal performance is touching ... well supported by Elizabeth DeShong's feisty, sympathetic Suzuki ... Pappano ... draws ardent playing from the ROH Orchestra, superbly detailed in its commentaries ... The production's simplicity allows one to focus on the central performances and, with a Butterfly as heartbreaking as Ermonela Jaho's, it serves its purpose handsomely".

"Sehr zu empfehlen ... Kitschfrei, in wenigen, leuchtenden Kostümfarben gelingt hier eine traditionelle Adaption, die noch mit ihren Nô-Mitteln wie dem von schwarzen Puppenspielern geführten Holzkind und den reduzierten Kulissen immer wieder überrascht ... Bieten solide, grosse Operndramatik ohne viel Feinpolitur".

"Minghella's ENO production looks colourful at the Met. Giordano's debonair Pinkerton outclasses Racette's emotionally unconvincing Butterfly".

Vurdering (performance): 4/5.

Vurdering (picture & sound): 5/5.

"It is exquisitely designed by Michael Levine ... Patricia Racette's Butterfly is magnificent ... Both sound and picture are splendid ... The choice is pretty obvious - it's the one from the Met".