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REVIEW: "Madama Butterfly" by Tulsa Opera
Published: 4/28/2012 7:41 PM
Last Modified: 4/28/2012 7:41 PM

The title character of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” makes her entrance several minutes before she appears on stage – singing a wistful song about her impending wedding as she approaches what will be her new home.

Sometimes, this scene has been little more than a moment or two of anticipation, as everyone awaits the arrival of this child bride. But other times – for example, Friday evening at the Tulsa PAC – when the role is sung by a performer as accomplished as Maria Kanyova, this brief scene gives one almost a complete of the character.

Kanyova, who is making her Tulsa Opera debut in this production, sings this passage with remarkable power and clarity – so much so that her voice seems to have, on its own, an undeniable stage presence.

Yet she also manages to convey some more complex qualities. You can hear Butterfly’s anticipation of what awaits her at the top of this hill – this romantic dream for which she has sacrificed everything, and which will drive her to an inevitable, tragic end.

Tulsa Opera have featured a number of fine singers in this role over the years, but I’m hard-pressed to remember one who so expertly portrays the character’s innocence and determination, playfulness and passion, desperate hope and abject despair.

She also sings this exhausting role with vibrancy and expressiveness from start to finish, hitting that high B-flat at the climax of “Un bel di” with breathtaking authority in moment, then floating an equally high note in a near-whisper that is just as precisely rendered and emotionally affecting the next.

Frank Lopardo as Pinkerton, the U.S. naval officer who casually enters into this marriage of convenience, is an excellent match. His robust tenor gives Pinkerton’s declaration of amorous conquests, “Dovunque al mondo,” a jaunty, caddish air – the “ugly American” in all its glory. And during the wedding night scene that concludes the first act, Lopardo’s forceful voice underscores the idea of Pinkerton not so much falling in love as bending Butterfly – albeit gently – to his will.

Audrey Babcock is an excellent Suzuki – the give and take between her and Kanyova’s Butterfly has the ease of long familiarity – and Rodell Aure Rosel is superb as the weasely wedding broker Goro, whether kowtowing to his social betters or savoring a juicy bit of gossip.

Peter Hakjoon Kim, as the U.S. consul Sharpless, was a bit like a Victorian child – more seen than heard. It was rare that anything other than a vigorous high note could be heard out of him.

Michael Ventura sang well as Butterfly’s disapproving uncle, the Bonze, yet physically he was more comical than magisterial or threatening. Wayne Hu divided his time between the Imperial Commissioner and Prince Yamadori, and Stephanie Washington had the role of Kate Pinkerton.

Kanyova’s daughter Kathleen had the silent role of Sorrow, Butterfly’s child, and the familial bond between them made their scenes together all the more poignant.

Anne-Marie Chiment’s spare set design – a raked stage, wood platforms to denote buildings, scrims and panels in earth tones – nicely suggested Japanese minimalism, and were effectively illuminated by Jeff Bruckerhoff’s lighting design.

Director David Roth staging was at its best when he had fewer figures in the landscape with which to work. The wedding scene in the first act, for example, was static and unconvincing; once the crowd left, the flow of action become more natural, with a high point being the Prince Yamadori scene, as Butterfly comically dismisses her putative suitor.

Maybe the most effective staging came with what is usually the break between acts two and three. Here, Roth has the action continue, so that the audience experiences Butterfly’s night-long vigil.

The Tulsa Opera Orchestra, under the direction of Tulsa Opera general director Kostis Protopapas, brought Puccini’s score to rich sonic life.

The final performance of “Madama Butterfly” will be 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Tulsa PAC. For tickets: 918-596-7111, tulsaworld.com/mytix.



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ARTS

James D. Watts Jr. has lived in Oklahoma for most his life, even though he still has people saying to him, "Don't sound like you're from around these parts." A University of Oklahoma Phi Beta Kappa graduate, Watts has received the Governor Arts Award, Harwelden Award and the National Conference of Christians and Jews Beth Macklin Award for his writing. Before coming to the Tulsa World, Watts worked for the Tulsa Tribune.

Contact him at (918) 581-8478.

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