Madama Butterfly

About the opera

• Run time: 2hrs 45min, 2 intermissions
• Sung in: Italian
• Subtitles: English, Italian and other languages
• Opera house: Vienna State Opera

Madama Butterfly is a hauntingly lyrical opera, which, in its day, mirrored the West's new interest in Japan. Puccini himself studied Japanese folk songs and manners in a bid for authenticity. But while he borrows some Japanese motifs and imitates some Japanese melodies, the music remains Italian.

The title character of Madama Butterfly—a young Japanese geisha who clings to the belief that her arrangement with a visiting American naval officer is a loving and permanent marriage—is one of the defining roles in opera. The lyric beauty of Puccini’s score, especially the music for the thoroughly believable lead role, has made Butterfly timeless.

Ticket information

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Vienna State Opera

Opernring 2, 1010 Vienna View in Google Maps

How to get there:

Subway: U1, U2, U4 to Karlsplatz

Trams: 1, 2, D, 62, 71 to Opernring

World premiere: Teatro alla Scala, Milan, 1904. Conducted by Arturo Toscanini, the opera’s premiere was a resounding failure, “a real lynching” in Puccini’s words. In the following years Puccini continued to revise the score. Later on, the lyrical beauty of the music has made Butterfly timeless. Puccini described it as his most "deeply-felt and imaginative" opera. The title character of Madama Butterfly is one of the defining roles in opera, and makes an important and brave attempt to break away from established dramatic patterns.

Creators
Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) was the leading opera composer of the early 20th century and achieved immense popularity in his own lifetime. His mature works – Madama Butterfly, Tosca, La Boheme and Turandot – remain standard in the repertory of every opera company in the world.

The libretto is by Luigi Illica (1857–1919) and Giuseppe Giacosa (1847–1906), after the play Madame Butterfly by David Belasco, based on the short story Madame Butterfly by John Luther Long, which in turn is based on the semi-autobiographical 1887 novel Madame Chrysanthème by the French novelist Pierre Loti.

Setting
The opera takes place in Nagasaki, Japan, around 1900. At the time Nagasaki was one of the country’s few ports open to foreign ships. Temporary marriages between an American officer and a geisha were common.

Music
When working on Madama Butterfly, Puccini studied Japanese folk songs and borrowed Japanese motifs. The music of the opera however, remains Italian. The opera focuses on the heroine: on stage for most of the time, Cio-Cio-San is the only character that experiences true development.