Madama Butterfly Tickets

Madame Butterfly - On Tour

Anyone who has ever said that they hate opera has never seen Madame Butterfly, the incredible production composed by Giacomo Puccini. The opera is a story right out Western culture's past, when "The Orient" was an obsession of the upper classes. The phenomenon is known today in sociology textbooks as "Japonisme," and Madame Butterfly was written at the height of the West's fascination with the East. The tale is that of naval officer Lt. Pinkerton, stationed in Japan and his relationship with a geisha named Cio-Cio-San, who becomes his "temporary" Japanese wife. What Pinkerton doesn't know when he leaves Japan for America (never planning to see Cio-Cio-San again) is that she is going to have his child. The child, named "Trouble," becomes the one being in the world that could reunite them, or destroy Madame Butterfly forever. The show is dramatic and touches human empathy; the heartbreaking ending of the production is unexpected and mind-blowing. It is hard to deny the power in the arias "Con onor muore" or "Un bel di," and the sopranos currently playing Cio-Cio-San have received top-notch reviews from critics across the country for their performances.

In 2004, Madame Butterfly celebrated its 100th year of performances, but just because it has been around for a century doesn't mean that the staging or the story is stale. Instead, staging of the production is getting more and more innovative! One production in Denver, Colorado has been lauded for fresh take on the opera. The director noticed some small details got perpetually overlooked on stage in typical productions. As a result, he reshaped the characters of Lt. Pinkerton and Cio-Cio-San slightly according to these details. The director's approach is incredibly innovative, and he provides his audiences with a new look at the opera. You can find Madame Butterfly tickets for the productions at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House here at TicketNetwork. Additionally, if you live in New York, Madame Butterfly is being performed at The Metropolitan Opera. The Met is known for putting on beautiful renditions of classic opera, and reviews for the NYC production of Madame Butterfly has received glowing reviews for its innovation. If you live near Chicago, Madame Butterfly will be premiering in December 2008 for a run through the end of January at the Lyric Opera House. There are other productions of the opera appearing at elegant venues in the United States, Canada, and Europe and TicketNetwork has Madame Butterfly tickets for all of them! If this historic and dramatic opera is being performed in a city near you, you don't want to miss seeing it.

Madame Butterfly Tour Schedule

Madame Butterfly - News Stories

In an article for The Rocky Mountain News, Marc Shugold interviews Ron Daniels, a director who is breathing new life into a Denver, Colorado production of Puccini's Madame Butterfly. Shugold claims that what makes his interpretation different from the usual staging of Butterfly is his attention to detail. Some commonly missed or glossed over details from the opera are deliberately brought onto the stage by Shugold in order to get a better understanding of the story. - Read More »

In an article for LATimes.com, David Ng writes about soprano Liping Zhang, an operatic singer from China portraying Cio-Cio-San in a production of Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly. Ng's article explores the very different personalities of the soprano and Cio-Cio-San, the character she portrays. It is a mistake, surely, to believe that Orientalist views of Asian women hold sway in modern times, and the interview with Zhang is evidence of that. - Read More »

About Madame Butterfly

Giacomo Puccini's dramatic opera Madame Butterfly (also called "Madama Butterfly") was the culmination of a series of stories inspired by the Western World's Japan-mania. Western writers on the topic of Japan and other exotic locales published their novels, stories, and poems in the late 1800s, the Victorian period. Victorian Europe was obsessed with travel to exotic locations, and for many upper-class families travel to India, Africa, and far-off Japan was a must if they wanted to stay in fashion with their peers. Japanese culture, gardens, and artwork became en vogue in Europe around the period that Madame Butterfly began to take shape in operatic form. According to BalletMet.org, the novel by Pierre Loti called Madame Chrysantheme was the first in a series of influences that eventually led to Giacomo Puccini's development of Madame Butterfly.. Pierre Loti had visited Japan himself, and his work reflects his familiarity with Japanese culture. Like Puccini's opera, his story revolves around a naval officer stationed in Japan. The officer (also named Loti) desired two things out of his stay in Japan: a temporal Japanese wife and a tattoo. In Loti's story, the temporary wife the naval officer finds is named O-kiku-san (or Miss Chrysanthemum), and he says horrible things about O-kiku-san and the Japanese. In spite of Loti's horrible treatment of her, O-kiku-san makes a scene and begs him not to go when it is time for him to leave Japanese shores. Loti leaves, but when realizes he forgot something in the house he returns to find O-kiku-san calmly counting her money and waiting for her next American husband. Pierre Loti's story eventually made it into the form of an opera and a ballet, which were never as popular as Madame Butterfly would become. It is strongly believed that Pierre Loti's novel was the inspiration for a short story by American writer John Luther Long, who inspired David Belasco to turn it into a play, which sparked Giacomo Puccini to compose an opera. Sound complicated? It isn't nearly as complex as it sounds!

Madame Buttefly, the short story by John Luther Long, was the next step in the development of Puccini's opera. The story in Madame Butterfly is similar to that of Loti's novel, in that a naval officer is stationed in Japan and he wants to secure a Japanese wife for his stay. Other plot developments such as the child, the American wife, and "Cho-Cho-San's" unwavering devotion to Lt. Pinkerton are completely the intellectual development of Long. John Luther Long's short story was adapted to stage by David Belasco, a Broadway writer, who made changes to the story that were continued into Puccini's interpretation. Belasco changed the name of Pinkerton's future American bride ("Kate" instead of "Adelaide"), and made an incredible change to the end of the story. In Long's Madame Butterfly, Cho-Cho-San prepares to commit suicide, but her son Trouble's cries make her realize she has a reason to live; Cho-Cho-San then "disappears" with her baby and her servant. In Belasco's play (and later in Puccini's opera), Cio-Cio-San succeeds in a very dramatic Shakespearean "Oh happy dagger" moment, leaving her son to be adopted and raised by Pinkerton and his American bride. Belasco's play Madame Butterfly appeared in New York City, and later in London. It was in London that Giacomo Puccini the composer first saw Madame Buttefly and was so moved that he wanted to create an opera of the story. Giacomo Puccini made Madame Butterfly his own, with "Cho-Cho-San" becoming "Cio-Cio-San" for the Italian-language opera. Further, while the plot follows closely Belasco's version it underwent five re-writes by Puccini while he perfected the story for the opera. The characters of Pinkerton and Kate became less harsh in Puccini's interpretation, more human and sympathetic for the audience.

Giacomo Puccini wrote many operas that live on into the modern era, and Madame Butterfly is one of the most notable dramatic productions he composed. In addition to many incarnations on stage, the opera has been turned into several feature-length films and it has been remained as the musical stage production Miss Saigon. In 2004, Madame Butterfly turned 100 years old and celebrations for the 100th birthday of the opera sparked a revival of the classic. There is something about hearing the aria "Un bel di" or "Con onor muore" that you will never forget once you experience it. If you love opera, or you have loved other Puccini-composed productions, Madame Butterfly is a show that you must see. In addition to epitomizing drama in opera, Madame Butterfly is a snapshot into the minds of Victorian Age Westerners and the phenomenon of Japonisme. Productions of the opera are performed all year round in the United States and abroad at incredible venues. If a production of Madame Butterfly opens at a venue near you, make sure to get your tickets for the show early. Because it is such a popular production, it can be difficult to find Madame Butterfly tickets as the show date nears. Experience the tragic tale of Cio-Cio-San on stage, and get Madame Butterfly tickets from TicketNetwork today!

Madame Butterfly - Links

Madame Butterfly - Trivia

• From BalletMet.org: Victorian era Exoticism had a great deal to do with the origins of the story behind Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly.
• From Wikipedia.org: The original version of Puccini's Madame Butterfly was not well-received when it premiered in Milan in 1904. Puccini went on to write a total of 5 versions of the opera, and it is the 5th edition of Madame Butterfly that is considered the "standard" version.
• From MetOperaFamily.org: While the plot for Madame Butterfly is borrowed from a few different sources, the ending of Puccini's Madame Butterfly is different from the stories it is based off of, and is unique to the production.
• If you can appreciate a dramatic, heart wrenching tale then you need to see Madame Butterfly. Often, the price of tickets can cause opera fans to miss a show they really want to attend. Don't let ticket prices get you down, find cheap Madame Butterfly tickets on TicketNetwork and save!

Madame Butterfly - What Critics Say

• Steve Smith of the New York Times wrote a review for the current NYC production of Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly. His review is glowing, noting the dreamlike quality of the production and the stylized backdrop the operatic actors shine against. The performance of Patricia Racette as Cio-Cio-San the geisha particularly impressed Mr. Smith. He notes her passionate singing voice, and the realistic drama she seems to portray seamlessly. Smith seems to think that Racette's performance alone is worth the trip to the opera, as he writes "hers is a performance not to be missed." - Read More »
• C. Reese of TMCnet.com wrote an inspired review for a Utah production of Giacomo Puccini's Madame Butterfly, giving a decidedly feminist view on the production. Reese accurately describes the patriarchal plot of Madame Butterfly, but admits that in spite of its shortcomings in regards to womens' rights, it is a well-done, heart-wrenching production. Drama, depth, sorrow, and incredible performances by all of the cast made Reese lean toward a very positive review for the production, if not for Lt. B.F. Pinkerton. - Read More »

Madame Butterfly Information

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