Japan, 1904. An American naval officer enters into a “marriage” contract with the geisha, Cio-Cio-San. She’s irresistible: delicate, bewitching in her innocence, and much too young to understand the fine print. One by one, circumstances pin her to her fate. She is desolate. She is desperate. Puccini expresses the inexpressible in music of searing heartbreak.
Music by Giacomo Puccini
Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica after David Belasco’s play Madame Butterfly, based on John Luther Long’s short story
Scenery and costumes originally created for The Minnesota Opera and Opera Theatre of St. Louis
Sung in Italian with projected English translation.
