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Madame Butterfly
"The opera 'Madame Butterfly' was told to me by God, and I just recorded it and shared it with the public."
—Giacomo Puccini
Premiered in February 1904 at teatro alla Scala in Milan, Madame Butterfly was a great lyrical tragedy with an exotic twist, but perhaps because of the flaws in the screenplay or perhaps in deviations from the tastes of European audiences, the premiere was dismal, and then Puccini broke the second act into two acts, drastically cut the repertoire, and re-staged in May of the same year, finally achieving unprecedented success and becoming one of the classics that have endured.
The work depicts Pinkerton, an American officer in Japan, and the heroine, the innocent and kind geisha Lady Butterfly, Qiaoqiaosang, who fell in love at first sight and held a wedding ceremony immediately, but when Pinkerton returned home after completing his mission, he heard nothing, but he did not know that Qiaoqiaosang was pregnant at this time, and Qiaoqiaosang took care of the child while firmly waiting for Pinkerton's return, but what he waited for was his treachery - when Pinkerton returned, he was accompanied by an American wife, and in grief, Qiaoqiaosang left the child and killed himself.
Madame Butterfly has an indoor lyrical style. It does not pursue a complex plot and external stage effects, but fully portrays the psychological activities of the heroine Qiao Qiaosang. In the play, Puccini directly uses Japanese folk songs such as "Edo Nihonbashi", "Lion Dance", and "Sakura" in music to show Qiaoqiaosang's geisha identity and naïve psychology, with unique musical colors. He also cleverly blended Japanese melodies with Italian styles without any sense of incongruity.
Qiao Qiaosang's aria "Sunny Day" is one of the most popular songs in Puccini's opera and the most common soprano repertoire in opera anthologies. It uses a longer declarative lyrical tune to depict Madame Butterfly's belief that Pinkleton will return to reunite with her happiness, and it is delicate and appropriate, reflecting the superb creative technique of Puccini, the master of color in opera music.
As one of the world's top ten classic operas, "Madame Butterfly" has always been a "regular" on the musicians' performance schedules, which has also spawned various versions of the deductive recordings. Among them, Karajan conducted the Vienna Philharmonic and featured Pavarotti and Freni as the male and female protagonists, and was highly regarded for its luxurious lineup, outstanding interpretation and clear sound quality.
Madame Butterfly 3CD
1974 DECA edition
Karajan/Vienna Philharmonic/Pavarotti/Frini
Pavarotti and Freni are considered to be the world's top male and female sopranos after Kalas and Stefano, and each of their operas has reached a very high artistic level, and this "Madame Butterfly" is one of them.
Freyn has exactly the characteristics of the role of Madame Butterfly - innocence, persistence, sadness, and affection. Her singing is very charming, the high notes are clear and rich, and the elegant, noble, delicate and moving voice seems to tightly grip the heartstrings of the audience. Pavarotti need not to say more, as the "king of high-pitched C" who has not been surpassed so far, his voice is powerful and penetrating, interpreting a passionate pinkerton image.
In addition, the Vienna Philharmonic led by Karajan has a smooth and magnificent tone, brilliant and bright, which sets off a greater drama. The precise control of DECCA recording engineers makes this recording not only outstanding in terms of live sense and dynamics, but also miraculously depicts the multiple emotional colors created by opera live performers and singers, and it is no wonder that this "Madame Butterfly" is also regarded as one of the models of simulated recording in the 70s.
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Karajan/Vienna Philharmonic/Pavarotti/Freni
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