Madama Butterfly

Synopsis

Act I
Our story opens on a flower-filled terrace in Nagasaki, Japan, where Lieutenant Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton is arranging his marriage to Cio-Cio-San, also known as Butterfly, through a marriage broker named Goro. Pinkerton views the marriage as a temporary convenience, while Butterfly, only fifteen years old, sees it as a genuine commitment. Despite warnings from the American consul, Sharpless, about the potential heartbreak, Pinkerton goes through with the marriage. Butterfly renounces her religion and family to be with Pinkerton, which leads to her being disowned by her relatives. Pinkerton comforts Butterfly, leading to a romantic duet which ends in an ecstatic climax of consummation in what is music of unrivaled beauty in all of Puccini’s œuvre.

– INTERMISSION –

Act II, Part 1
Three years have passed. Pinkerton has returned to America, leaving Butterfly penniless to wait for him in Nagasaki. She remains hopeful and steadfast, believing that he will return as promised. Her maid, Suzuki, tries to convince her that Pinkerton will not come back, but Butterfly remains resolute. Sharpless visits Butterfly with a letter from Pinkerton, but is interrupted by Goro, the marriage broker, who brings a wealthy suitor, Prince Yamadori, to propose to Butterfly. She rejects him, insisting that she is still married to Pinkerton. When finally given the chance to speak, Sharpless cannot bring himself to transmit the message of the letter, but instead urges Butterfly to accept Yamadori’s proposal. She then shows him her son, who was born after Pinkerton left for America. An incredibly moved Sharpless vows to inform Pinkerton of his son. Moments later, the cannon from the harbor is heard; Pinkerton’s ship is seen by an exalted Butterfly. She, her child, and Suzuki joyously fill their home with flowers, ending in a vigil waiting for Pinkerton’s imminent return.

Act II, Part 2
After one of Puccini’s greatest intermezzos, morning comes, and an exhausted Butterfly takes her son to sleep. Only then does Sharpless and Pinkerton arrive, with his new American wife, Kate. They have come to take Butterfly and Pinkerton’s child back to America, stating that it is in the best interest of the child. Pinkerton is filled with remorse and guilt, but he cannot face Butterfly. Instead, he leaves Kate and Sharpless to break the news to her. Butterfly joyously rushes back, expecting to see Pinkerton, but soon realizes the devastating truth. In a heart-wrenching conclusion, Butterfly agrees to give up her son, but only to his father, should he come himself to retrieve him. She then takes her own life with her father’s dagger, dying as she is discovered by Pinkerton who falls to his knees in anguish.

CHARACTERS
(IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)

Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton
Lt., U.S. Navy, stationed in Nagasaki

Goro
A marriage broker

Suzuki
Cio-Cio-San’s maid

Sharpless
U.S. consul at Nagasaki

Cio-Cio-San “Butterfly”
A 15-year-old geisha in Nagasaki

The Imperial Commissioner
Presiding at the wedding ceremony

The Bonze
Cio-Cio-San’s uncle, a Buddhist monk and family patriarch

Prince Yamadori
Cio-Cio-San’s suitor

Sorrow
Cio-Cio-San’s son

Kate Pinkerton
Pinkerton’s American wife

CONDUCTOR
Louis Lohraseb

Since his professional debut at the Teatro del’Opera di Roma in 2019, Louis Lohraseb has quickly established himself as an exciting new conductor on the international stage, with subsequent debuts at the Semperoper Dresden, Los Angeles Opera, and Komische Oper Berlin.

Following his acclaimed mainstage debut with Tosca at Los Angeles Opera, Lohraseb was swiftly re-engaged for Il Barbiere di Siviglia and La Traviata. The 2023-24 season featured his notable debuts at Staatsoper Hamburg with Le Nozze di Figaro and Atlanta Opera with A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as well as a performance with the Peoria Symphony.

Recent highlights include Carmen at Semperoper Dresden, La Traviata at Komische Oper Berlin, Thérèse with Opera Sarasota, and La Rondine and Don Giovanni at Indiana University Opera Theatre. He has also led gala concerts with Yale Opera and Summer Opera Tel Aviv.

An accomplished pianist, Lohraseb is a regular recital and chamber music partner collaborating with such artists as Erica Petrocelli, Liv Redpath, Charles Castronovo, Taylor Raven, Eric Silberger, Madalyn Parnas, and Cicely Parnas. He studied piano with Findlay Cockrell and Kevin Murphy, and harpsichord and theory with William Carragan.

Lohraseb was a recipient of the prestigious Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award in 2022, and he includes among his mentors Lorin Maazel, James Conlon, Arthur Fagen, and Kevin Murphy. An alumnus of the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program at the Los Angeles Opera, he has served as assistant conductor to music director James Conlon for numerous productions since 2017 at the Los Angeles Opera and the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Born to Iranian and Italian parents, Lohraseb graduated summa cum laude from SUNY Geneseo, where he was an Edgar Fellow. He has been a Conducting Fellow at the Yale School of Music, where he studied with Shinik Hahm and served as assistant conductor to Peter Oundjian, John Adams, and Krzysztof Penderecki, among others, with additional post-graduate coursework at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

DIRECTOR
Marcus Shields

Marcus Shields is a visual artist, musician, and stage director working in classical music and new media. His work, which ranges from audio engineering to filmmaking to large-scale, multimedia performance installations, is all about connecting audiences to classical music. He has created and directed performance pieces for the Curtis Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, The Chautauqua Institute, Des Moines Metro Opera, the Arizona Opera, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Opera, College Conservatory of Music at UC (CCM), Wolf Trap Opera, The Merola Opera, and the Madison Theatre. In addition to directing, Shields has co-founded multiple companies including OSSIA productions, AlexanderJane creative, UpUntilNow collective, and Catapult Opera. For Catapult Opera, he served as Executive Director from 2018 – 2021, during which time he created the Accelerate Competition and commissioned “The Glitch”, an opera by Nico Muhly and Greg Pierce. As of 2024, he has embarked on a long-term social media project exploring directing, opera, and methods of creative production. Upcoming projects include the world premiere of an opera by David Hertzberg with the Rochester Philharmonic and a new production of Nozze di Figaro with the Curtis Institute of Music.

THE CAST

This production prioritizes the vocal chemistry of the cast in a theatricalized concert rendering of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. While the story is set in Japan, our artistic directors have embraced performers of all races and ethnicities, assembling a cast that represents a range of backgrounds, and seeking out the brightest lights of the operatic world.

CIO CIO SAN
Erica Petrocelli

American soprano Erica Petrocelli, whom Broadway World exclaimed that, “Her voice can richly convey all the emotions, while masterfully integrating all those coloratura tricks and making them seem easy and natural. She is amazing-the most remarkable voice of the evening!” recently graduated from both young artist programs of Opernhaus Zürich and LA Opera. In the 2023-2024 season, Ms. Petrocelli returned to LA Opera as Donna Clara, the Infanta in Zemlinsky’s Der Zwerg, conducted by James Conlon. Concert appearances included Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder with Peoria Symphony, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with Florida Orchestra, and concerts of Puccini favorites with Sarasota Opera. As a young artist with LA Opera, Ms. Petrocelli sang Musetta in La bohème and First Lady in Die Zauberflöte at LA Opera, both conducted by James Conlon. She also made her principal debut at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, singing Micaëla in Carmen. Ms. Petrocelli currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, conductor Louis Lohraseb, and young daughter.

PINKERTON
Anthony Ciaramitaro

Tenor Anthony Ciaramitaro is drawing attention for his robust Italianate sound and compelling stage presence. He has garnered acclaim for his recent international role debuts as Rodolfo in Luisa Miller at Opéra de Tours, Faust in Boito’s Mefistofele at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, and Alfredo Germont in La Traviata at the Macerata Opera Festival. Mr. Ciaramitaro is a former Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist at LA Opera, where he performed Il Messaggero in Aïda, Heinrich der Schreiber in Tannhäuser, Ruiz in Il Trovatore, and Lord Cecil in Roberto Devereux. Mr. Ciaramitaro was an inaugural member of the Renée Fleming Fellowship at the Aspen Musical Festival, where he debuted as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte. In previous seasons, he’s appeared as an Apprentice Artist with the Santa Fe Opera, an Apprentice Artist with the Palm Beach Opera, a Studio Artist with Arizona Opera, and a member of the Merola Opera Program.

SUZUKI
Sun-Ly Pierce

Praised by Opera Magazine for both her “serene beauty and truthfulness” and her “insightful musicianship and pants-role swagger,” mezzo-soprano Sun-Ly Pierce is securing her place as a dynamic and exciting artist in the opera industry. Ms. Pierce has won top prizes in the Marilyn Horne Song Competition, Dallas Opera National Vocal Competition, Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers, and Butler Opera International Voice Competition. She was a semi-finalist in the Kurt Weill Foundation’s Lotte Lenya Competition and a Vocal Fellow at Academy of the West. Ms. Pierce was selected as an Encouragement Winner of the New England Region of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2021. Ms. Pierce was selected as a Keston MAX Fellows which were to perform with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle before the pandemic forced its cancellation. Recent and upcoming engagements include Ms. Pierce’s debut as Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the De Moines Metro Opera, Siebel in Faust at the Berkshire Opera Festival, and Dorothée in L’Amant Anonyme at the Opera Philadelphia.

SHARPLESS
Ricardo José Rivera

Praised for his “rich baritone and confident stage demeanor”, Puerto Rican baritone Ricardo José Rivera is a 2021 alumnus of the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Two seasons ago, Ricardo performed Nottingham in Roberto Devereux with Washington Concert Opera, Don Carlo in Ernani with Sarasota Opera, Severo in Donizetti’s Poliuto with Teatro Nuovo, and Silvio in Pagliacci with Opera San Antonio. This past season he made his debut as Figaro in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Riolobo in Florencia en el Amazonas with Opera San Jose, debuted the role of Miller in Verdi’s Luisa Miller with Sarasota Opera, and returned to Teatro Nuovo for Carolina Uccelli’s Anna di Resburgo. Future engagements include debuts with Pittsburgh Opera as Silvio in Pagliacci, Opera Colorado as Conte di Luna in Verdi’s Il Trovatore, Florida Grand Opera as Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, and the Colorado Springs Philharmonic in the role of Sharpless.

GORO
Seiyoung Kim

Korean-American tenor Seiyoung Kim is a recent graduate of the Yale School of Music, where he was awarded the Phyllis Curtin Career Entry prize. Last season, Kim’s engagements included making his Houston Grand Opera debut originating the roles of Rat and Monkey in the world premiere of Meilina Tsui’s The Big Swim, making his debut at The Glimmerglass Festival performing Little Victor Farrell in Elizabeth Cree and Tito in The House on Mango Street, performing in Boston Public Library’s Summer 2023 Concert in the Courtyard Series with Boston Lyric Opera, singing Britten’s Les Illuminations with the Sejong Soloists, performing in the Yale Fall Opera Scenes as Don Ramiro from La Cenerentola and Jasper from The Snowy Day, and performing Father in The Seven Deadly Sins with Yale Opera. Kim will be joining Volksoper Wien’s opernstudio for the 24/25 and 25/26 seasons. In his first season with Volksoper Wien, Kim is scheduled to perform Harlekin in Der Kaiser von Atlantis, a new co-production of Volksoper Wien and Wiener Staatsballett, among others.

BONZE
Cory McGee

At just 27, Cory McGee has already established himself as a rising talent in opera. He opened the 2023–24 season as Don Giovanni (Wolf Trap Opera) before making his Opera Philadelphia debut as Pietro in Simon Boccanegra. Other key roles include the Father in Blue (New Orleans Opera), Achilla in Julius Caesar (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis), and Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Atlanta Opera). He has also performed with Houston Grand Opera in Parsifal and Madama Butterfly. McGee’s concert work includes La bohème (Chattanooga Symphony), Handel’s Messiah (Santa Fe Symphony), and the world premiere of Music for New Bodies (DACAMERA).  A former Houston Grand Opera Studio artist, he recorded Schwanengesang and performed in Lawrence Brownlee’s Giving Voice concert. He was a finalist in the 2021 Pasadena Vocal Competition and won second prize in Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum Competition. His past performances span Wolf Trap Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and Oberlin Opera Theatre, where he performed in La bohème, Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Les Contes d’Hoffmann, earning praise for his powerful voice and dramatic presence.

YAMADORI
Matthew Peterson

Praised by the Colorado Springs Gazette for his “stunning” singing with “power and beauty”, Matthew Peterson is a baritone acclaimed for his rich voice and expressive acting ability. A Colorado native, Matthew has performed with several premiere musical organizations including Central City Opera, the Colorado Ballet, Virginia Opera, the New England Symphony, and Opera Santa Barbara. His career highlights are the leading baritone roles in Don Giovanni, Cosí fan tutte, and Le Nozze di Figaro, as well the Novice in Billy Budd, Silvio from Pagliacci, and the title role of Gianni Schicchi. No stranger to the music of Broadway, Matthew has played Signor Nacarelli in A Light in the Piazza, Joseph in Dreamcoat, and has appeared in numerous other musical productions. As a sought-after concert soloist, he has performed many of the most demanding works for baritone, including Carmina Burana with the Colorado Ballet, Poulenc’s Le Bal Masque with the New England Symphony, Mozart’s Requiem, Five Mystical Songs by Vaughan-Williams, Haydn’s Creation, and premiered the dance oratorio Ode to Nature that was recorded and released by Albion Records.

KATE PINKERTON
Jennifer DeDominici

Jennifer DeDominici is gathering impressive reviews for her work on some of the country’s finest stages in portrayals of the favorite heroines of musical theatre and operatic repertoires. Her appearances as some of the most iconic leading ladies of classical musical theatre have earned her critical acclaim. She was awarded the Marlowe Awards’ “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical” and was nominated for a Henry Award, a True West Award, and a BroadwayWorld.com Award for Man of La Mancha, in which she was “…a tour de force as the feisty Aldonza and her voice was so powerful and gorgeous, especially in ‘What Does He Want of Me,’” and “…luminescent as Aldonza, a woman embittered by a life of hardships.” She is a first-place winner of the Denver Lyric Opera Guild Auditions, a NATS Singer of the Year, and a four-time Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

COMMISSIONER
Mason O’Brien

Mason O’Brien (Bass-Baritone) currently attends the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver pursuing a Master’s degree in Vocal Performance. Mason grew up in Memphis, TN and received his BM in Vocal Performance (Cum Laude) from the University of Kentucky. His Favorite credits include: Bottom in Britten’s A Midsummer-Night’s Dream (Lamont Opera), Colline in La Boheme (University of Kentucky Opera Theatre), Dr. Gregg in Gallantry (TU Opera Theatre), and Chorus in Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer (Opera Colorado). Mason studies privately with Prof. Cathy Kasch and coaches with Dr. Beth Nielsen. Mason is a voice teacher of non-voice majors at the University of Denver and is incredibly proud of his students.