Over the years, the Shanghai Grand Theatre has always insisted on opening the season with opera. This year, the tradition has been continued.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Puccini's death and the 120th anniversary of the premiere of Madama Butterfly, and on August 9-11, Petcini's opera Madama Butterfly, co-produced by the Shanghai Opera House, the Royal Opera House of United Kingdom and the Shanghai Grand Theatre, will open the 2024/25 season at the Shanghai Grand Theatre. Xu Zhong, director of the Shanghai Opera House, conducted the scene.
"Three performances, nearly ninety percent of the ticket sales." Zhang Xiaoding, general manager of Shanghai Grand Theatre, introduced that this is also another in-depth cooperation between the three parties in the field of opera production after the Chinese premiere of Verdi's opera "La Traviata" in 1999 and Puccini's opera "Manon · Lesco" in 2014. ”
A still from Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly
Popular version, keep improving
In 1900, after seeing United States dramatist David · Velasco's one-act play Madame Butterfly, a Japan tragedy, Puccini was deeply moved and wrote Madama Butterfly. Four years later, the opera premiered at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy, and after five revisions, it became a monumental work.
The story takes place in Japan around 1900. United States Navy Captain Pinkerton married a Japanese bride, Qiaoqiao-san, who was called back shortly after the marriage and returned with his United States wife three years later. Qiaoqiao Sang guarded the boudoir, but what she was waiting for was betrayal, and she was grief-stricken and put an United States flag in her son's hand, blindfolded him, and committed suicide.
This tragic opera with a room lyrical style does not pursue a complex plot, but fully depicts the psychological activities of Qiao Qiaosan. The aria "Clear Day" depicts Qiao Qiaosang's belief that her husband will return and her happy reunion with her is delicate and appropriate, and countless viewers have cried when they hear it.
In 1905, "Madama Butterfly" was first staged on the Covent Garden stage, and since then, different versions and styles of "Madama Butterfly" have emerged one after another, becoming one of the regular plays of the Royal Opera House of the United Kingdom.
The upcoming Shanghai version was born in 2003 and is a collaboration between Belgian director Moshu· Lessel and France director Patrice · Corrier. This version has made more historically accurate adjustments to the action design, modeling and makeup of the characters in the play, and the stage presentation also follows the concise style that has become more and more popular in European opera in recent years.
Before the rehearsal, in order to restore the history more accurately, the Royal Opera House of United Kingdom spent a whole year consulting with the cast, scholars and Asians, and hired experts such as Dr. Rina Suzuki, lecturer of modern Japan history at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London, Akoko Uemura, action designer, and Etsuko Handa, a costume wig and makeup consultant, to make rigorous adjustments to the stage background, character movements, costumes and makeup, and strive to express the true spirit of the opera.
The action design Uemura Enko allows the actors to improve their postures exactly according to Japan tradition, for example, the maid Suzuki's left hand is always on her right hand, and the gestures reflect Qiaoqiao-san's upbringing. This version also removed the white powder makeup of Qiaoqiao-san and others, the painted eyebrows and slender beards of monks, and greatly reduced the comic comic comic colors of Goro, the marriage agent.
"Since it came out in 2003, this version has been very popular and has been performed many times. Its mood is beautiful and moving, the story is clear, and although the ending is sad, it cannot hide the beauty of Puccini's music, and although it is set in Japan, the story is universal. · Sims, Executive Director of the Royal Opera House of the United Kingdom, said.
A still from Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly
Sino-British team, in-depth cooperation
This Sino-British co-production of "Madama Butterfly" has two starring groups: Chinese and foreign. Among them, Qiaoqiaosang is starring soprano Federica· Vitali, and Song Qian, and Pinkerton is played by tenors Jorge· De Leon, and Guo Zizhao respectively.
"A 15-year-old girl falls in love with someone who, against all costs, thinks that he is the love of her life and is willing to do anything for him...... At first, she was very simple and naïve, fantasizing about Pinkerton going to United States and believing that she could live a better life. Later, she learned that she had been betrayed, and would rather die with honor than live without humiliation, and kill herself. Federica is an Italy girl, and Qiaoqiaosan is the first major role of her career, and it is the first time she has played this role outside of Europe.
Federica studied Japanese in school, but after a long time she forgot about it, and after she started singing "Madama Butterfly", she turned over the previous books and revisited them to help her get closer to Japan culture, "I didn't understand her at first, but after substituting into Japan culture, I suddenly became enlightened." In Japan culture, if a person loses his dignity, he or she would rather give up his life. Federica said that although it ended in tragedy, she wanted to interpret this strong woman in a positive and optimistic way.
"When I was in college, I often secretly went to the Shanghai Opera House to watch opera rehearsals, and now I come to rehearse by myself, I feel like I'm going home, and I have a lot of classmates working here." Guo Zizhao, who plays Pinkerton, is a student from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and later admitted to the Milan Conservatory of Music and graduated with a master's degree with full marks. Interestingly, Song Qian, who co-operated with him, also studied in Italy for eight years, and both of them were able to communicate fluently in Italy during rehearsals.
The choreography, costumes, and props in the play are all made in Shanghai, eliminating the need for behind-the-scenes personnel to travel back and forth between Europe and Asia. At the same time, the Royal Opera House of United Kingdom also sent behind-the-scenes staff to assist the Shanghai team to ensure the authenticity of the production. In the future, these services will also remain in Shanghai for performances.
From the performance team to the business team, the administrative team, from the front of the stage to the backstage, the Shanghai Opera House, the Royal Opera House of the United Kingdom and the Shanghai Grand Theatre have worked together to show a high degree of professionalism. Xu Zhong led the Chinese and foreign performance teams to conduct more than 20 days of rehearsals with fire-like enthusiasm in the face of high temperatures.
In October last year, Zhang Xiaoding, Mike· Sims and Xu Zhong met at the Royal Opera House United Kingdom discuss the details of the cooperation on the joint production of the opera "Madama Butterfly". ”
Poster of Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly