Opera in three acts, written by Illica in collaboration with Gagosian, is based on the play of the same name by Berast (1859- 1931), which in turn is based on the novel by John Lloyd Lang (l861-1927). Scored by the Italian composer Puccini, it is one of Puccini's three major operas. It was first performed on February 17, 1904 at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. The revised version was premiered on May 28, 1904, at the Teatro della Brescia.
Characters:
Madame Butterfly Qiao Qiao San, soprano
Suzuki Suzuki, Madame Butterfly's maid, second soprano
Pinkerton, captain in the U.S. Navy, tenor
Sharples, U.S. consul in Nagasaki, baritone
Goro, the marriage broker, tenor
Yamabori, Madame Butterfly's suitor, baritone
Monk, Uncle, the marriage broker.
Monk, Madame Butterfly's uncle, baritone
Along with Madame Butterfly's mother, aunt, cousins, relatives, Madame Butterfly's son, the royal clerk, the registrar, and others.
Synopsis:
The story is set in Nagasaki, Japan, in the early twentieth century. A U.S. Navy officer, Mr. Pinkerton, is introduced by a marriage broker as the wife of a fifteen year old Japanese geisha, Qiaoqiao Sang (Madame Butterfly), but the Yankee takes a playful attitude to the marriage and returns to the U.S. with the fleet not long after the marriage. The result is the husband's malicious abandonment. When Pinkerton returned to Japan three years later, he brought his real American wife and asked to take away the child he had with Mrs. Butterfly. Mrs. Butterfly acceded to her "husband's" request and committed suicide to end the marital tragedy.
This "Madame Butterfly" is different from traditional operas: the overture is very short. When the curtain rises, it is immediately clear that it is meant to set the mood for the hustle and bustle of wedding planning. But somehow it doesn't sound joyful, but rather vaguely unsettling.
The story takes place in Japan during the Meiji era, around 1900, in the port area of Nagasaki in Kyushu, Japan.
Plot Commentary:
Act I The scene is the harbor of Nagasaki, Japan, at the end of the nineteenth century.
The curtain opens on a hill near Nagasaki, with Nagasaki Bay visible in the distance and the new home of U.S. Navy Captain Pinkerton on the left. Pinkerton was looking for a Japanese wife because he was going to stay in Nagasaki for several years. Goro, a Japanese marriage broker, introduced Pinkerton to Qiaoqiao, explaining that the marriage would be valid for as long as the man agreed to live with the woman, and that the woman could still remarry after the separation. Since Pinkerton had to return home once he was transferred, the marriage broker's decision to take Qiao Qiaosang as his temporary wife was just a playground for fun.
On this day, Goro took Pinkerton, the soon-to-be-married U.S. Navy officer, up the hill to see the new house, a small wooden house with an exquisite garden, elegant and generous, beautiful and interesting. Goro explains to Pinkerton the wonders of the Japanese-style bungalow compartments and introduces the future servants who will serve the newlyweds. Soon afterward, Sharpless, the American consul in Japan, came up the hill, sweating and stepping, and Pinkerton, coming forward to greet him warmly, told him about the incident: "We Yanks are wandering about, making our homes everywhere, constantly seeking joy and fulfillment, and capturing the hearts of beautiful women everywhere." Sharples felt that Pinkerton attitude is a bit frivolous, he was very solemn to the young naval officer: said: "This matter can not be a child's play, must not break the heart of the Japanese girl, it will be a great sin," the two people to start a duet: "Love and games" rhyme and amicable and with the meaning of contempt and jokes!
While the two were celebrating and laughing, they saw a group of women coming in procession, and at that moment, Goro rushed to report, "The bridal party is here!" A beautiful chorus of female voices, far from the lower slopes of the mountain up the hill, the bride Qiaoqiao Sang in the company of friends and relatives, slow step lotus move, pick up the steps, along the way also sang the praises of nature's beauty and dreamy love. While Pinkerton pities Qiuqiu Sang, who has had a hard journey, Sharples inquires about Qiaoqiao Sang's family history; Qiaoqiu Sang replies, "She was originally from a local family in Nagasaki, but her father died and she and her mother were left to fend for themselves. Her father died, and she and her mother were left to fend for themselves. The family fell into disrepair, and she learned to earn her living as a courtesan who sang and danced. She endured pain and the shame of people. When she told it, her expression was so sincere that one could not help but feel deep pity. Goro, who had probably bragged about Qiaoqiao Sang's family before, fearing that the silly girl had spoken out of turn, interjected, "Her mother was a noble lady." But Qiaoqiao Sang sighed: "How doomed she is, poverty is forever tormenting her." Consul Sharples asked her with concern: "Where is your father?" "He is dead." Qiaoqiao Sang looks very uneasy, the girlfriends also lowered their heads, in order to break this embarrassing situation, Consul Sharples asked: "How old are you" Qiaoqiao Sang playfully asked the two American gentlemen to guess; Pinkerton and Sharples guessed a few times, Qiaoqiao Sang is announced the correct answer: she is fifteen years old this year, is considered to be very old! The consul could not help but sigh: in the United States, this is still carefree childhood! It was still the age of play, and for this Japanese girl in front of them to say that this was already very old, they found it really unbelievable!
Then the Japanese Emperor's envoy and marriage notary arrived. Qiaoqiao Sang led the crowd to kneel, Pinkerton signed the marriage contract in front of the crowd, signed and handed over the usual 100 yen as a gift. At this time Qiaoqiaosang well-dressed, elegant and American bride in general. As a rule, the bride's first meeting, there will be a gift to the groom, Qiao Qiaosang from the big cuffs inside the gifts: a silk scarf, a pipe, a silver button, a small fan, a bottle of perfume, and finally very discreetly take out a dagger sheath. Pinkerton saw the dagger sheath, felt a little puzzled, so asked Goro, Goro said vaguely, the dagger sheath is the Emperor of Japan gave Qiao Qiao Sang father killed himself as a souvenir. "What happened to her father?" Pinkerton asked again, "Died honorably." Goro said and walked away.
Unwilling to continue the subject, Qiaoqiao Sang took a few more figurines out of her sleeves and told Pinkerton that they were her ancestors. Then she recounted with reverence, "I will tell you a secret. Yesterday I went into the church alone. No one knows about it, not even my monkish uncle. I'm going to trust in my husband's God, because I'm going to give you everything I have."
The look of loyalty on Qiao Qiao San's face shook Pinkerton's heart, but he didn't realize how serious a conversion could be for Qiao Qiao San, and for a Japanese man. Moreover, he was far from having the same sense of sanctity about the marriage that Qiaoqiao Sang had After the wedding was held, just as Mrs. Butterfly and Pinkerton were receiving congratulations from the crowd, there was a sudden roar of anger, and it turned out to be Mrs. Butterfly's monk uncle who had come to the house. He angrily pointed at Qiaoqiao Sang and said to the crowd, "Listen, gentlemen, she has betrayed us and her ancestors. She has believed in someone else's god!" These words really took everyone by surprise. They turned their heads and angrily booed at the shivering bride, Qiao Qiao San. The monk shouted the name of the Japanese god and continued to curse Qiaoqiao Sang loudly, "You have betrayed us, let the devil take you!" Pinkerton couldn't help himself, he said to the monk, "No noise here!" The monk gave the American a hard stare and continued cursing with his mouth full. Pinkerton was on fire and he ordered loudly, "Get out of here right now! I'm the master here, and I don't allow anyone to yell and scream here!" Upon hearing this, the crowd left, leaving the abandoned Qiaoqiao Sang to sob alone. Looking at the poor little bride, Pinkerton's heart was filled with pity, he tenderly put his arm around Qiaoqiaosang's shoulders and persuaded, "Your Japanese religion and all your relatives and friends are not worth the hard feelings in my beautiful girl's heart. I shall love you well," and at that moment there was a murmuring and whispering in the house, which Qiaoxiang said was the maid, Suzuki, praying to God. At this time the night was low, a pale moon accompanied by twinkling stars, and the two sang the sweet and mesmerizing duet, "The Moon is Green by Day": "My dear, your eyes are so bright, and in this white dress, you are like a lily. Lovely girl, my passion runs wild for you." Qiaoqiao Sang softly replied, "I am like a beautiful goddess, gently coming down from the moon in the sky. My dear, I would fly with you to heaven." The two of them then went into their room together and ****joyed their wedding night.
Scene 2 Mrs. Butterfly's home
Scene when the rise, it has been three years after Pinkerton returned to the United States with the fleet. Pinkerton returned to the United States without news, Mrs. Butterfly has given birth to a son. Mother and son live in this exquisite cottage is also comfortable, from the open door look in, only to see Qiao Qiao Sang in the tatami lying, maid Suzuki in front of the shrine murmuring prayers. Tired of maid Suzuki's prayers, Qiaoqiao Sang said sarcastically from the sidelines, "The Japanese gods are the laziest, they never listen to her prayers, and she believes that the God in America is more industrious, and that if you go to pray, he will give you an answer quickly, but I am afraid that he doesn't know that we are suffering." It was obvious that they were struggling, as evidenced by the furnishings of the house and the clothes on both of them. The maid, Suzuki, sighed, "If he has forgotten us all already, how can we live on?" Qiao Qiao Sang didn't like this, she sat up, "Why don't you believe that my husband will definitely come back? He would never abandon his little butterfly!" "I've never heard of a foreign husband coming back." Qiaoqiao-san got really angry, she grabbed Suzuki's collar and shook it hard, "What? What did you say?" Then she sang to Suzuki, and even more so to herself, "When we parted that day, he had tenderly told me, " Ah, little butterfly, when the roses are in bloom, when the little swallows fly high in the sky on that warm spring day, I will return to you." While Suzuki had long since heard enough of these words from her to hold out no hope for them, Mrs. Butterfly was firm: "Her beloved husband Pinkerton will surely come back," and Cochise-san rose to her feet, and began to act out to the sea the scene of her daily fantasies (Aria: On that beautiful day): "On that fine day, that distant sea, we saw a wisp of black smoke and a warship appeared. That white warship sailed into the harbor. The salute roared, and behold, he had come! I do not go to meet him, but stand on this side of the hill looking longingly toward the harbor, expecting a happy meeting with him. He runs quickly, nearer and nearer, to this side. "My dear little butterfly, where are you?" I said not a word, and hid myself quietly away. My heart was beating wildly, full of passion like a flame burning. He was shouting over and over, "My dearest little butterfly, come into my arms!" It sounded as good as ever, and all the pain would be forgotten. Believe me, Suzuki, he will come! While the master and servant were discussing the matter, Sharples, the American consul in Japan, paid a visit, and he had come to tell Mrs. Butterfly that he had received a letter from Pinkerton. He had received a letter from Pinkerton, saying that he was already married in the United States, and that he would like Sharpless to tell Qiaoqiao Sang about it, so that she could break off the engagement in accordance with Japanese formalities. Seeing that the pure Qiaoqiao Sang is exceptionally loyal to Pinkerton. Sharpless was in a dilemma. At that moment, the marriage broker Goro came to the door with a Japanese nobleman, Duke Yamatori, saying that he wanted to help Mrs. Butterfly to meet again (because according to the Japanese custom, if a husband abandons his wife, it is considered as a divorce); Mrs. Butterfly said that she married an American, so she should follow the American law, how could she care about the Japanese custom? With that, she invited Goro and Duke Yamatori to leave the house. It was then that Sharples read Pinkerton's letter slowly to Mrs. Butterfly, "My dear friend, do me the favor of going to see my beautiful little butterfly ......" "Did he say so?" Cochise-san exclaimed happily. "It is written thus. The consul read on, "Three whole years have passed since that memorable day." Qiao Qiao Sang said to herself, "Not bad!" "Perhaps my little butterfly has forgotten me." "Forgotten him? Suzuki, do you think I can?" Suzuki didn't say anything. The consul read on, "If she remembers me and has waited for me until now, ......" "Of course, I am waiting!" "I beg you, my friend," the consul read on reluctantly, "to trust that you will be able to do the thing, and quietly prepare everything ......" Cochisean asked, a little uneasily: "What does he want?" The consul whispered to himself, "To abandon her." Sharples asked Mrs. Butterfly, tentatively, what will you do when Pinkerton never returns? Qiaoqiao Sang did not hesitate to answer: "One is to resume the old business as a geisha to sell songs to entertain the customers, the other is to commit suicide. Sharples was shocked, he advised Qiaoqiao Sang still agreed to marry the Duke of Bird. Hearing this, she begins to wonder if Pinkerton is truly heartless, and she tells Suzuki to bring her son. Suzuki ran into the inner room and brought out a little boy with blonde curly hair, and said his name was "Suffering Child" This put Sharpless in a difficult position, and Qiaoqiaosang, who was full of tears, hugged the child tightly, and knelt on the ground and sang sorrowfully: "My dear child, do you know? Perhaps one day I will wander the streets with you, and in the midst of a storm we will stretch out our pitiful hands to passers-by. Perhaps to endure humiliation, no, never! Such a day would be too painful! The thought of the future made Qiaoqiao Sang despair to the utmost. Mr. Consul also sadly shed tears, he could not bear to talk to Qiao Qiaosang any longer, so he said goodbye to the mother and son, and left the house full of sorrow.
At that moment, Suzuki, the maid, rushed in screaming, dragging a man who turned out to be Goro. Suzuki tells Qiaoqiao-san that this damned guy is out there spouting nonsense that Qiaoqiao-san's child is going to meet a bad fate. Qiao Qiao Sang is so angry that she rushes towards Goro, cursing him loudly, and threatening to kill him as she takes a dagger from the wall. While Suzuki went to carry the child, a terrified Goro ran away.
Qiao Qiao San stood frozen in the center of the room. The suddenness of the situation left her dazed. The maid was shouting again, "Listen, there's the sound of cannons at the seaside pier!" The two ran to the window and looked out to sea. Sure enough, there was a white warship sailing into the harbor with the Stars and Stripes flying prominently above it. Cochisean's heart stopped beating with excitement; she had seen the words on the warship: the USS Abraham Lincoln. "That's it, my husband's warship!" She exclaimed, "He's coming soon, ah, how happy I am!" Qiaoqiao-san told Suzuki to hurry up and pick all the flowers in the garden and arrange them all over the room to welcome her returning husband. Suzuki was also infected by Qiaoqiao Sang's cheerfulness, and they sang a lively duet: "We'll make the house, filled with the fragrance of spring, and make this place just like a garden, with springtime! "
In a few moments, only bare branches remained in the garden, while the floor of the room, on the tatami mats, was covered with a layer of flower petals. Qiaoqiao-san sat down sharply in front of the mirror and asked Suzuki to help her with her make-up. She wished that her husband still loved her as much as he used to, calling her "my dear little butterfly". She asked Suzuki to fetch her wedding clothes and put them on neatly, and put brightly colored flowers in her hair. Dressing the child up as well, everything was ready to go.
It was getting dark. Qiao Qiao San poked three holes with her finger in the paper door facing the sea. One for herself, one for Suzuki, and one low down for the child. Together they looked out in silence, waiting for that exciting moment. The moon shone in, reflecting the three standing figures on the paper door. The sound of waves came from the sea not far away. The maid, Suzuki, and the child, unable to resist sleepiness, fell asleep on the tatami mat. Qiao Qiao San stood there motionless, as if she were a statue.
Act III is still in the home of Madame Butterfly
The maid and the child are asleep, and Qiaoqiao Sang stands in front of the door. But the night has passed and dawn has come. The songs of the sailors could be faintly heard in the bay, besides the sound of the waves. The sun rose and illuminated the petals that covered the house. The maid woke up, she stood up and touched Qiaoqiao Sang gently, "You are too tired to wait, go and sleep for a while. If he comes, I will call you." Qiaoqiao Sang was indeed tired. She bent down and picked up the sleeping child, singing a lullaby as she walked toward the inner room. "Sleep, little baby, you are going to that faraway place." Gradually, her voice could not be heard. Suzuki knelt in front of the idol and began to pray.
There was a knock on the door. Suzuki listened with her side ear. The knocking got louder. She got up in a hurry and pulled the door open. Mr. Consul, who was walking ahead, then gestured for her to be quiet. Pinkerton followed, and they stepped in softly, as if they had some secret, and Suzuki told them that Cochisean had waited all night and was just now falling asleep. Pinkerton asked in amazement, "How did she know I was coming?" Suzuki replied, "It's been three years since a boat came here. Mrs. Butterfly waits every day for you to come back. See, the floor is full of flowers, and we were ready yesterday." She was so happy that she wanted to go into the house at once to call Cochise-san, but Pinkerton stopped her. Suzume turned around and realized that there was another foreign woman in the garden outside the door. "Who is she?" Pinkerton hesitated to say, and the consul replied, "Pinkerton's wife." Suzuki froze at once: "Oh God, it's over! All hope is over!" She flung herself to the ground and wept. Pinkerton was so uncomfortable that he felt he had no face to see Qiao Qiao San, and could not wait to escape from the room. Mr. Consul was also very angry, and he blamed Pinkerton for hurting Qiaoqiao Sang's feelings. But in order to deal with this unfortunate incident properly, the consul decided that he should face the poor Qiaoqiaosang, and he advised Pinkerton to leave quickly.
Pinkerton looked around the house where he had spent so much of his life, and at the flower petals on the floor, he felt a deep sense of condemnation in his heart: "Farewell, quiet home, farewell, to the times I have spent. I cannot forget those melancholy eyes; she will be ever present to me. What shame, what pain, rolling hot tears cannot be shed. Farewell, I have only to flee at this moment! Pinkerton hurried away. His wife, however, came up to Suzuki and said that they wanted to take the child away, and assured him that he would be treated well. Suzuki sighed sadly: Qiaoqiao-san loved her child so much that it would be cruel to keep them apart.
At that moment, Qiao Qiao San's voice came from the house, "Suzuki! Suzuki! Come here a minute!" Suzuki was terrified, she rushed over and tried to stop Qiao Qiao Sang from walking out, but it was too late, she only saw Qiao Qiao Sang, full of excitement, looking around, but what she saw was Mr. Consul, and Mrs. Foreigner who was hiding in the garden. As if they understood what was going on; Suzuki and the consul came forward hurriedly and tried to hold her, but Qiaoqiao Sang pushed them away and asked nervously, "What do you want? Take away my child?" Mr. Consul advised, "Let him be taken away, lest the child should suffer," Qiaoqiao Sang's eyes became very terrible, but her tone was calm, "Separate from the child! ...... Well, I will do my duty." Hearing this, Pinkerton's wife came up to her and asked her cautiously, "Can you forgive me? Mrs. Butterfly? Will you give me the child?"
Cochisean stood straight, looked at her, and replied, word for word, "I obey his father's will, and will certainly give it to him myself. Please wait a little longer and I will have everything ready." The consul and Mrs. Pinkerton withdrew. Cochisean could hold out no longer, she collapsed on the floor, weeping in despair, Suzuki tried to comfort her, but she was in tears herself, unable to speak.
Qiaoqiao Sang looked up and asked Suzuki to close all the windows, she didn't want to see the bright sunlight. The house darkened and she
commanded Suzuki, "Go and see the child and go to him." Suzuki cried and refused to go, and Qiao Qiao San pushed her away without a word and closed the door to the house.
Wiping the tears from her face, she calmly walked over to the statue of the Japanese god, knelt down, and bowed her head in prayer. After a few moments, she stood up, took a long white scarf from her closet and hung it on the screen, and took the dagger off the wall. Again she fell on her knees before the statue, and slowly drew out the dagger, and in a low voice, but with perfect clarity, read the words engraved on it, "Better to die with honor than to live with dishonor." Then she put the dagger to her throat, when the door opened and in walked her son. At once she threw away the dagger, and flung herself upon the child and clasped him in her arms, "Ah, my hope, my love, my life and joy!" She sang her last song in grief into the child's innocent eyes: My dear child, your mother can bear no more pain, for you are about to leave me for that far-off land, while I am going to that dark grave. My dear child, remember me, remember your poor mother, goodbye, goodbye, remember me!
Sobbing uncontrollably, Qiaoqiao Sang set the child down, gave him a little puppeteer and a tiny American flag, blindfolded the child again with a handkerchief, and retired behind the screen. The child thought his mother was playing a joke on him and waited with a smile on his face. There was a dangling sound from behind the screen. Cochisean stumbled out, wrapped in a white scarf, when Pinkerton rushed in with Sharples, and when the dying Cochisean saw it, she pointed her finger at the little afflicted child, and fell forever in a pool of blood. Pinkerton knelt beside her and wept bitterly, but it was too late to call back the butterfly's life!