Opera and ballet fans will be in raptures next week when Cessnock Performing Arts Centre hosts a spellbinding production of the classic Puccini opera Madame Butterfly.
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Audiences are rarely given the opportunity to see Madame Butterfly performed as a full-length ballet and, thankfully Melbourne City Ballet is redressing this balance.
Redeveloped into a newly choreographed three-act ballet, this unique production captures the story’s essence through the fusion of traditional Japanese and classical ballet movement.
The classic story follows a young Japanese girl named Cio Cio San (nicknamed Butterfly) as she marries US Naval Officer Pinkerton, only to have him depart for America.
As the years pass, Butterfly awaits his return with hope, refusing any new suitor as she pines away for her beloved Pinkerton.
It is only upon Pinkerton’s return that Butterfly realises their union was not as she thought, ending in one of opera’s most infamous tragedies.
“Our production will feature more of a traditional Japanese style of movement than our classical repertoire. We hope our audiences enjoy Madame Butterfly,” Michael Pappalardo, artistic director of the Melbourne City Ballet said
Star of Madame Butterfly and principal artist with Melbourne City Ballet, Yukio Masukawa said that looking back on her time in Japan helped he immensely to embody the role.
When I’m playing the role of Butterfly, I often reflect back to my time in Japan,” she said.
“It’s interesting how things can be so connected, they both hold a special place in my heart”.
The beauty of exquisite and sensitive choreography together with Puccini’s iconic score has made Melbourne City Ballet’s Madame Butterfly a tender and romantic production, not to be missed.
The original two-act version of Madame Butterfly was first performed at Milan’s La Scala Opera House in 1904. A subsequent three-act version premiered in May of that year at the Teatro Grande in Brescia.
Melbourne City Ballet’s Madame Butterfly will be on at the Cessnock Performing Arts Centre on Thursday 27 September at 8pm.
Tickets are on sale at the CPAC Box Office, by phone on 4993 4266 or online at www.cessnockperformingartscentre.com.au