The Israeli Opera presents MADAMA BUTTERFLY

The beloved opera "Madama Butterfly" by Giacomo Puccini will be presented in Israel in a new production originally created for the La Scala Opera House in Milan. The opera will be conducted by the musical director of the Israeli Opera Daniel Oren. The great Japanese director Keita Asari will present in this production a special take on the opera, influenced by the Japanese culture as opposed to this opera's many productions that offer a western look on the Japanese culture.

The production will be performed by international and Israeli soloists, The Opera Orchestra - The Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion and The Israeli Opera Chorus conducted by Ethan Schmeisser.

The opera will be presented between July 15 and July 28, 2017, at the Shlomo Lahat (Chich) Opera House in Tel Aviv. Sung in Italian, with Hebrew and English Surtitles.

Puccini's opera "Madama Butterfly", based on the 1898 short story by John Luther Long, is perhaps the most famous opera ever written. The story of "Madama Butterfly" is based on travel logs written by passengers who accompanied the American navy's journeys. According to a Japanese custom of that time, foreign soldiers could marry local girls and even get the marriage annulled whenever they want. From these relationships many babies were born and raised without their fathers who returned to their home country. "Madama Butterfly" is the story of a young Japanese girl who falls in love with Pinkerton, an American naval officer, marries him and gives birth to his son and finds out after three years in which he is absent that he married an American woman. She decides to keep her honor and takes her own life as her little son is left with his father and his wife.

Japanese director Keita Asari is considered a cultural pioneer in Japan as he was the first to bring American musicals to the Japanese stage and expose the local audience to them.

The soloists in this production are:
Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly): Susanna Branchini, Xiuwei Sun and Ira Bertman.
Pinkerton: Najmiddin Mavlyanov, Matteo Lippi.
Sharpless: Ionut Pascu, Vladimir Braun.
Suzuki: Francesca Franci, Shay Bloch.
Kate: Anat Czarny, Michal Doron.
Goro: Alasdair Elliott, Joseph Aridan.
The Bonze: Carlo Striulli.
Yamadori: Noah Briger, Oded Reich.
Imperial Commissioner: Oded Reich, Yair Polishook.
Official Registrar: Anatoli Krasik.

Performances dates:

Saturday July 15, 2017 at 21:00, Sunday July 16 at 20:00, Tuesday July 18 at 20:00, Wednesday July 19 at 20:00, Thursday July 20 at 20:00, Friday July 21 at 13:00, Saturday July 22 at 21:00, Monday July 24 at 20:00, Tuesday July 25 at 20:00, Friday July 28 at 13:00

Sung in Italian

English and Hebrew Surtitles

Translation: Israel Ouval.

Performance duration: Three hours

One hour before each performance there is a 30-minute introductory lecture in the auditorium (in Hebrew). Opera staffers present the opera and the production and enable the audience to get some extra information a short time before attending the performances. Admission is free for ticket holders of the performance for the same day.

For tickets and further information visit Israel-Opera or call 03-692777 (Israel).

Madamma Butterfly

Libretto: Luigi Illica & Giuseppe Giacosa after a drama by David Belasco based on a short story by John Luther Long.

Conductor: Daniel Oren
Director: Keita Asari
Revival Director: Michiko Taguchi
Set Designer: Ichiro Takada
Costume Designer: Hanae Mori
Lighting Designer: Filibeck Marco

The Israeli Opera Chorus
Chorus Master: Ethan Schmeisser
The Opera Orchestra - The Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion
A production of the La Scala Opera House, Milan