Madama Butterfly Tickets

Madama Butterfly – An exquisite production

Puccini’s heartbreakingly tragic story, Madama Butterfly, is back at the capital’s Royal Opera House from 14th March to 18th July 2024. This is the moving tale of a 15 year old geisha who falls in love with the US naval officer Pinkerton, and the score is one of the composer’s finest.

This marvellous operatic experience is a revival of Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier’s production, widely described as ‘exquisite’, inspired by European images of Japan dating back to the 1800s. The music includes the famous Butterfly’s aria, 'Un bel dì, vedremo' or ‘One fine day’ in English, and the lovely Humming Chorus.

Madama Butterfly tickets

Madama Butterfly contains stylized depictions of suicide and it’s sung in the original Italian, with projected English surtitles so everyone can understand what’s happening.

All about Madama Butterfly – A beautiful tragedy

Cio-Cio-San is the 15 year old Japanese bride of the American naval officer Lieutenant Pinkerton, or so she believes. Sadly her romantic ideas are shattered when he leaves for his homeland just after they were married. She waits, desperate for him to return.

Three years later Cio-Cio San is still waiting, but now she’s a mother and the child is Pinkerton’s. When she and her son Dolore spot Pinkerton’s ship in the harbour she is thrilled he has come back to her. But when he arrives at her home with his American wife Kate, she realises she has lost him. The couple wants to take Dolore home to America. Heartbroken, Cio-Cio-San agrees, says goodbye to her son, and commits suicide.

The full Madama Butterfly cast and creative team

The cast varies depending on the performance. Cio-Cio-San is played by Asmik Grigorian and Hrachuhí Bassénz and Pinkterton by Joshua Guerrero and Seokjong Baek. Lauri Vasar and Andrè Schuen play Sharpless and Hongni Wu and Enkelejda Shkoza play Suzuki.

Goro is performed by Ya-Chung Huang, the Bonze by Jeremy White, and Prince Yamadori by Josef Jeongmeen Ahn. Kate Pinkerton is played by either Veena Akama-Makia or Gabrielė Kupšytė and the Imperial Commissioner is Romanas Kudriašovas. The Chorus is the Royal Opera Chorus.

The creative team members include music by Giacomo Puccini, and Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica. The directors are Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier. The set design is by Christian Fenouillat and the costumes by Agostino Cavalca.

Lighting design comes from Christophe Forey. The conductor is Kevin John Edusei and the orchestra is the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. This is a co-production with Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona.