Lyric's new "Madama Butterfly" takes flight
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Kara Son plays Butterfly/Cio Cio San and Nozomi Kato is Suzuki in the latest production of "Madama Butterfly" by the Lyric Opera. Photo: Courtesy of Todd Rosenberg
Ever since I saw "Madama Butterfly" for the first time at the Lyric in 8th grade, I've had problems with the Puccini opera.
Warning: Spoilers ahead for those who don't know "Butterfly"'s ending.
The problem: As a half-Asian woman, I've long taken issue with the opera's central plot of an American sailor marrying a Japanese teen in Nagasaki and abandoning her for three years, only to return and drive her to suicide because he has a new American wife.
- The ending has always left me feeling depressed and demoralized.
Yes, but: Lyric's latest production, directed by Japanese American Matthew Ozawa and guided by a Japanese American female production team, has shifted the lens of this story, creating an exhilarating finale.
Between the lines: Ozawa's production casts the American sailor Pinkerton as a 2026 anime gamer and orientalist fetishizer who delves into Asian fantasies through a VR headset.
- He dreams up Butterfly and his marriage to her in Japan as a game.
- But by the end, it's Pinkerton, not the Japanese teen he's concocted, who is defeated. In fact, "Butterfly"'s final act feels more like liberation than death.
State of play: This production, which premiered at the Cincinnati Opera, features Korean soprano Karah Son as Butterfly/Cio-Cio-San and Evan LeRoy Johnson as Pinkerton, both making stunning Lyric debuts.
- Expect the traditional libretto and score but with bright neon, modern sets, purple and green hair and plenty to chew over in this brilliant interpretation of a 120-year-old classic.
If you go: The production runs through April 12 and tickets start at $95.