Puccini – Madama Butterfly

Recording: Pier Luigi Pizzi and Marchigiana Philharmonic Orchestra at Arena Sferisterio, Macerata, Italy

Score: vocal score and piano reduction (from IMSLP)

Lecture points

Review sheet for Madama Butterfly

Imperialism and exoticism

  • imperialism across the globe: British India, French Indonesia, invasions of China (opium wars)
  • “gunboat” diplomacy opens isolated Japan to American interests (Matthew Perry, 1854)
  • fascination with foreign cultures in Europe, the “Orient” represents everything to the east
  • meanwhile, newly formed nations in Europe/America seek economic and political power alongside Britain, France…
  • also note, Italy becomes a nation in 1861

Puccini

  • verismo: opera moves away from comedy and classical dramas to realism, contemporary stories
  • Giuseppe Verdi is most notable composer of verismo opera, his music championed Italian nationalism
  • Puccini was a younger contemporary of Verdi’s, was very popular, but not so political
  • Puccini’s exotic settings and Oriental trappings are more escapist, although his stories are still verismo (darker)

Madama Butterfly

  • institution of a geisha, “wife” for sale
  • culture clash, tradition versus foreign influence
  • exoticism in music: the use of musical devices that suggest a foreign land or culture
  • note the presence of the traditional song Sakura when Cio-Cio-San brings out her ancestral treasures (Vieni, amor mio!)
  • in contrast, Puccini represents Pinkerton with the American national anthem (Dovunque al mondo)
  • pentatonic scale: an example of musical exoticism, attempting to imitate Japanese musical style
  • is Madama Butterfly a veiled critique of imperialism? or a sensational tale?