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| Maria Natale as Butterfly. All photos by Pat Kirk. |
Puccini's Madama Butterfly
April 26, 2019
One of the more popular misconceptions about opera is that
you can separate “acting” and “singing” into discrete categories. In truth, the
two operate in a constant dance, and if you’re not singing your acting and
acting your singing, you’re not doing the job. Opera San Jose’s dark, assertive
Madama Butterfly demonstrates how even a musical matter like vocal timbre can
determine how a stage director (Brad Dalton) delivers his vision.
The obvious place to start is the happy (Act I) couple,
Pinkerton and Cio-Cio-San. Dane Suarez possesses a classic lyric tenor, but one
vested with just a bit of an edge – not all the way to spinto, but one capable
of a little force. This serves to bring out Pinkerton’s early knuckleheadedness
about cultural differences, his young man’s focus on his own needs. He’s a bit
of a firecracker.
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| Renee Rapier as Suzuki, Maria Natale as Butterfly. |
Our Cio-Cio-San, Maria Natale, takes this further. She, too,
is a classic lyric, but with a fantastic capacity for ferocity at the top end.
This really brings out Butterfly’s sometimes-overlooked strength, her
determination in Act 2 to fight off the doubters and wait for her American
husband to return. Her “Un bel di” seems to rise out of nowhere, as it should,
and her later high pianissimos are delicious.
This timbral match makes the wedding-night duets into
soaring tonal tangos. The sense of power and assertiveness is reinforced by
Trevor Neal, who uses his rich baritone and natural presence to play a fiery
Sharpless, who makes no bones about how much Pinkerton is ticking him off. Brad
Dalton does a masterful job of taking the players he’s given and directing to
their strengths.
Renee Rapier uses the depth of her mezzo to plumb the many
lines of foreboding about her mistress, and to underscore the luscious unison
passages with Butterfly in the blossom-strewing celebration of Pinkerton’s
return. Mason Gates delivers an impish Goro, and Philip Skinner is truly
imposing as The Bonze.
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| Trevor Neal as Sharpless, Mason Gates as Goro. |
Adding to the sense of darkness is Kent Dorsey’s set, a spare
black stage deploying various flying screens and backdrops. The vigil scene is
particularly lovely, Butterfly, Suzuki and Sorrow gazing into the pinhole
lights of a night sky. Atom Young did a splendid job with Sorrow, handling his
many small assignments with ease (and it confounds me how anyone can get a child
to stand still for that long).
Joseph Marcheso and his orchestra demonstrated an excellent
sense of dynamism, from the playful lilt of the letter-reading scene to the
grand sweeps of the love duet and the heart-stopping timpani-driven death
scene. The production shows a distinct attention to traditional Japanese
movement, guided by choreographer Hanayagi Jumasuga. Butterfly’s descent to the
stage at Pinkerton’s return contains a different emotional gesture for each
step. The death scene is a little bloodless. I understand not messing up
valuable kimonos, but perhaps even a little stage blood on Pinkerton’s hands
would have helped.
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| Maria Natale as Butterfly, Dane Suarez as Pinkerton, Ezra Kramer as Sorrow. |
I offer a special note of gratitude to OSJ’s general
director Larry Hancock on the eve of his retirement. Going back to 1985 (!),
Larry added an enormous amount to my opera education through intermission chats
and official interviews, and no one has worked more tirelessly in service to an
arts company. I have especially enjoyed the way he has led OSJ into recent ambitious
ventures like this season’s production of Jake Heggie’s Moby-Dick. Enjoy your
rest, Larry – you’ve earned it.
Opera San Jose’s 2019-20 season includes Strauss’s Die
Fledermaus (Sept. 14-29), Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel (Nov. 16-Dec. 1),
Verdi’s Il trovatore (Feb. 15-March 1) and Mozart’s The Magic Flute (April
18-May 3). 408/437-4450, operasj.org.
Michael J. Vaughn is the author of 21 novels, including the
opera novels Gabriella’s Voice and Operaville.
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