MADAME BUTTERFLY
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COT has usually employed a three-pronged approach to its seasons, combining an old favorite, one comparatively obscure work, and a more contemporary piece. When picking the old favorites, COT must act with some discretion. The number of bodies required for Aida would surely drive the long-suffering priests of neighboring Saint Alphonsus (which owns the theater and parking lot) over the brink. And how would one ever shoehorn the requisite number of instrumentalists for Die Meistersinger into a pit where 40 is a crowd?
COT is now presenting a rather unexpected 20th-century work, one that falls into the old-favorite category: Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. At first glance this would appear an unlikely choice, both because the orchestra must be larger than usual and because Lyric Opera has scheduled a production for the fall. (COT could once give an English-language version of an opera to be performed by the Lyric and draw those who wanted to be better acquainted with the work, but the advent of surtitles at Lyric makes this role less important.) But COT has overcome the orchestral hurdle. And its smaller production reveals aspects of the work that often remain hidden in larger stagings. It is much easier to concentrate on the emotions of the characters when they are seen in such an intimate setting; against a grand set, the principals can seem reduced in stature.
The role of Sharpless, the American consul in Nagasaki, is difficult to handle well dramatically because the character is mostly restricted to a form of passive moral indignation. Baritone William Diana not only sang this part with clarity, but through his empathy with Butterfly also made the consul the personification of the sentiment of the audience.
