Details

An American naval officer (Pinkerton) 'acquires' a 15 year old Geisha wife during a stay in Japan - but has no intention of staying with her. After a while he returns to the USA and marries his fiancee. Meanwhile, Butterfly waits for him for three years, cut off from her family, religion and culture by being an American wife. And she is now a mother. When he finally returns she is overjoyed, but he brings with him his new wife. Story originally published in a magazine. Sung in Italian with English surtitles

Cast/Performers

Julie Unwin (Butterfly), Richard Roberts (Pinkerton), Alison Kettlewell (Suzuki), Simon Thorpe (Sharpless), Alasdair Elliott (Goro), Henry Waddington (Bonze), Susan Parkes (Kate Pinkerton), Howard Wong (Il Commisario Imperiale), Seung-Wook Seong (Yamadori), Charlotte Spink (La Madre di Cio-Cio-San), Rachel Munro (La Zia)

Creatives/Company

Music: Puccini
Lyrics(s): Giuseppe Giacosa, Luigi Illica (1904)
Producer: Opera Holland Park
Company: City of London Sinfonia
Conductor: Dominic Wheeler
Director: Ian Rutherford
Design: Peter Rice