‘Butterfly’ retains its sting

By Jim Lowe Times Argus Staff

LEBANON, N.H. — Who else could tear your heart out and leave you asking for more? Giacomo Puccini, perhaps more than any other opera composer, tears at the heart strings — sensually and beautifully.

Opera North opened a production of Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly” last Saturday at the Lebanon Opera House that did just that. Brilliantly sung and beautiful to behold, Saturday’s opening night performance reveled in the drama and tragedy as only opera can. “Madame Butterfly” will be presented in repertory with Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.”

“Madame Butterfly,” set at the end of the 19th century, is the tale of a 15-year-old geisha who enters earnestly into a marriage with a U.S. Navy officer, who sees it only as a pretext for sex. Act I is full of joy, as Cio-Cio San, known as Madame Butterfly, marries Capt. B.F. Pinkerton, though she has to renounce her religion and family, and he is warned by Sharpless, the American consul, of Butterfly’s earnestness.

In Act II, Butterfly and her faithful servant Suzuki await Pinkerton’s return. It has been three years, and Sharpless comes to warn them that Pinkerton will likely never return, only to find that there is a child. In Act III, all the parties come together for the tragic finale.

Opera North’s production, conducted by Louis Burkot and directed by Ron Luchsinger, proved successful pretty much throughout. The lead singing was close to spectacular and the staging was dramatic and elegant.

Russian-born soprano Olga Chernisheva sang Madame Butterfly with a dramatic voice, and beautifully. She proved convincing and successfully matched the big-voiced men she was cast against.

Young American tenor Hugo Vera, with his brilliant and truly heroic voice, was well cast. Diego Matamoros, who recently made his Metropolitan Opera debut, was an assertive Sharpless, with an unusually brilliant baritone. In the beginning, there was an “anything you can sing, I can sing louder” attitude between the two men, but when singing with Butterfly, the sound was brilliant and beautiful.

Mezzo-soprano Cynthia Hanna sang well and was effective as Butterfly’s maid Suzuki. The supporting cast varied somewhat vocally, but all were effective, including the chorus, in the overall dramatic effect.

The dramatic effect was truly enhanced by the simple and elegant set by Yoshinori Tanokura, with dramatic lighting by David Gelhar and beautiful period costumes by Patricia Hibbert.

This was a beautifully heart-wrenching “Madame Butterfly.”