Dramatic first night as Madama Butterfly takes wing again

There was added drama at the first night of Opera Australia’s revival of Graeme Murphy’s striking production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.

Sae-Kyung Rim trapped in the web as Cio-Cio-San in Opera Australia’s production of Madama Butterfly. Photo: Guy Davies

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The first night of Opera Australia’s revival of Graeme Murphy’s striking production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly did not go as smoothly as planned when tenor Diego Torre playing the male lead had to retire after the first act through illness.

The Mexican-born star had been decidedly below par throughout the hour-long first act, struggling with a head cold and wavering on a couple of high notes.

He got through the pivotal love scene Viena la sera (Night is falling) between America-loving geisha Cio-Cio San – powerfully performed by Korean soprano Sae-Kyung Rim – and the exploitative Yankee naval lieutenant Pinkerton, but at interval came the announcement that he would be replaced by an unknown lad from the Outback Thomas Strong, from Opera Australia’s Young Artist Program, who had only half-an-hour on stage to impress, and impress he did with his rich and even timbre and pleasant stage manner.

The minimalist set, surrounded on three sides by floor-to-ceiling video screens which act as a wintry backdrop with the occasional blaze of colour, and the ominous knifelike edges of the angular, sloping stage lend a symbolism to this fascinating marriage of vision and sound.

Diego Torre as Pinkerton and Sae-Kyung Rim as Cio-Cio-San in Opera Australia’s 2022 production of Madama Butterfly. Photo: Guy Davies

The love duet is given an erotic charge by film of ballet dancers projected on to a transparent screen dropped from the fly loft. The red belt Cio-Cio-San wears on her bridal gown becomes a rope and then a spider’s web to entrap a butterfly, danced by Naomi Hibberd, and ultimately the tragic geisha herself.

Rim was magnificent in the show’s biggest moment Un bel di vedremo (One fine day), framed by Sean Niewenhuis’s clever video images. Conductor Carlo Montanaro knew just when to apply the brakes or step on the gas and the Opera Australia Orchestra and Chorus responded seamlessly.

Sian Sharp as Suzuki and Sae-Kyung Rim as Cio-Cio-San. Photo: Guy Davies

The cast was top-notch – mezzo Sian Sharp superb as Butterfly’s indispensable maid Suzuki, a role she has made her own in recent years. Also reprising their roles from the original 2019 production were Opera Australian stalwart baritone Michael Honeyman as the Consul Sharpless and Italian Australian tenor Virgilio Marino as the unscrupulous and insinuating marriage broker Goro, his long silver dreadlocks and shiny costume making him resemble a Dr Who villain.

DETAILS

• CONCERT Opera Australia: Madama Butterfly

• WHERE Sydney Opera House

• WHEN June 30

• SEASON Until July 30