Product Description

An American lieutenant marries a beautiful young geisha, to the dismay of her family. Shortly after the wedding the lieutenant departs for America, and his wife bears him a child, alone.

Three years later she excitedly awaits his return, only to find to her shock and despair, that he is returning with an American wife.

With a heart-rending love story and a brilliant score, Madama Butterfly is one of the most beloved opera classics. '(Cheryl Barker) broke through the sound barrier that divides fine soprano from world star'
The Bulletin

'Future casts have a lot to live up to.' The Australian

'Above all, the coup de theatre is the brilliantly coloured costumes...in the love duet, the sky blazes with millions of starts, lighted candles float on water.' The Bulletin

Conductor: Patrick Summers
Director: Moffatt Oxenbould
Featuring: Cheryl Barker, Jay Hunter Morris, Douglas McNicol, Ingrid Silveus
Opera Australia Chorus
Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #77342 in DVD
• Brand: barker
• Released on: 2008-05-27
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 141 minutes

Customer Reviews

A Powerful Piece of Theater
In many ways this Opera Australia (OA) Madama Butterfly reminds me of the 1993 OA La Boheme -- Puccini - La Boheme / Baz Luhrmann, The Australian Opera (2002 Edition). Each production illuminates relationships and develops the libretto in ways which make the story more meaningful and understandable. For example, Butterfly and Suzuki are clearly girlfriends and not merely mistress and loyal servant in the OA Butterfly.

If you value opera as a theatrical experience, both this DVD and the OA La Boheme are hard to beat. If you care only about the music making and could care less about the drama on stage, stick with Scotto and Callas. Each is in excellent form and their Madama Butterfly studio recordings are superior to the sometimes difficult acoustics of the Sydney Opera House. Visually, however, the Scotto and Callas recordings are no competition since these sound-only recordings lack any video.

Everyone in the OA cast not only acts and sings well, but each has a physical appearance that matches their character well. Cheryl Barker, the only principle who is also in the OA La Boheme, is even better as Butterfly than she was as Mimi. Done four years later in 1997 (not in 1974 as indicated on Amazon's site), Barker's voice is significantly stronger, although she had yet to achieve the vocal polish she reached in 2003 when recording her Puccini Passion CD with Richard Bonynge (Puccini: Passion). In both operas, her acting is animated, engaging, and moving, getting better as each opera moves from opening to final act. No soprano capable of singing Madama Butterfly can realistically portray the 15 year old Butterfly of Act 1. Barker comes close, although by the end of Act 1 she still seems to me more woman than child. In Acts 2 and 3, however, she very much captures the teenage, 18 year old Butterfly in a way that no one else I have seen has attempted, let alone managed.

It is worth noting director Moffatt Oxenbould's staging. The set has a stylish, traditional feel despite using a modern, minimalist approach to the point where sometimes humans discretely play furniture, parts of Butterfly's house, dream figments, and other things. No doubt clothing the principle players in traditional appearing garments, the extensive use of wood and screens, and the inherently minimalist nature of Japanese aesthetics contributes to the traditional feel. Still, it is remarkable that overall effect is much closer to turn-of-the-century Japan than something resembling a space ship. Also noteworthy is the work of lighting designer Robert Bryan who makes the color and shading of Butterfly's house echo the mood and circumstances of the libretto.

In summary, this is a superb Madama Butterfly, if you have an interest in what is happening on stage. Even if you could care less about the drama, you still should find Barker's well sung Butterfly worth hearing despite the Sydney Opera House's less than super acoustics.

WONDERFUL!!! GREAT!!! DEFINITIVE!!!
THIS IS FAR THE BEST VERSION OF THIS OPERA AVAILABLE ON DVD! CHERYL BARKER HAS SUCCEDED HERSELF COMPARED TO HER OTHER VERSION OF THIS SAME OPERA ON DVD, HER VOICE IS EVEN MORE GORGEOUS HERE. WOMEN ARE GOING TO FAINT WHEN THEY SEE THE TENOR WHO PLAYS PINKERTON, HE IS INDEED A VERY HANDSOME MAN - THE MOST BLONDE TENOR I HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE, AND HOW HE SINGS! HE HAS ALMOST A KIND OF WAGNERIAN VOICE, ALTHOUGH IT'S STILL SUITABLE TO THE ROLE. HE'S REALLY A SEDUCING MAN, CAPTIVATING AND CONVINCING -THE WAY HE PLAYS, A WOMAN COULD HARDLY RESIST HIM! IN MY OPINION, THE LOVE DUET'S SCENE IS THE HIGHER POINT OF THIS OPERA AND PARTICULARLY OF THIS SETTING- GRADUALLY THE SKY GOES FILLING WITH HUNDRED OF STARS AND FINALLY WITH A BIG FULL MOON - IT'S VERY VERY WONDERFUL! FOR ME, THE OPERA SHOULD FINISH AT THAT MOMENT. BUY IT! YOU WON'T REGRET...TRUST ME!

Another Reason to Love the Aussies
The vocal performances are outstanding. I would have made this a 5 star review if the costuming and makeup could have reflected a more Asian/Japanese mood to enhance the beautiful efforts of Ms Barker.