Savannah Voice Festival caps 11th season with Puccini's 'Madama Butterfly'
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The origin's of Giacomo Puccini's three-act opera, "Madama Butterfly," resembles a game of telephone. First, American author John Luther Long wrote the short story "Madame Butterfly," published in 1898, based in part on a story told to him by his sister, who had lived with her husband, a Methodist missionary, in Nagasaki, Japan, and an 1887 French novel titled Madame Chrysanthème.
The ill-fated love story between a young Japanese "wife" and an American naval officer was adapted into a one-act play David Belasco. During a performance of the play in London during the summer of 1900, Puccini was in the audience, captivated by Madame Butterfly's enduring love for her Lieutenant Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton.
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Puccini's initial staging of the opera did little to impress critics, so he retooled it ― five times ― into the classic opera that Savannah Voice Festival is staging for the first time in Savannah as the culminating event for its 11th season. The Savannah performance will also represent the realization of a long-held ambition of SVF Artistic Director Jorge Parodi, who fostered the collaboration with the Tokyo International Vocal Arts Academy (TIVAA) that brought "Madama Butterfly" to the Savannah Cultural Arts Center stage.
In a press release, Parodi said, “The opportunity to bring Japanese artists I have worked with in Tokyo to Savannah for our 11th Festival is a dream come true and I hope audiences come to the Cultural Arts Center to experience this unique occasion.”
Artists participating in this production will work with legendary soprano and VOICExperience faculty member Maria Spacagna, who was the first American-born artist to perform the role of Madama Butterfly at La Scala. Maryanne Telese, who has portrayed the lead role in 367 performances , will direct.
If You Go >>
What: Savannah Voice Festival presents "Madama Butterfly"
When: 6:30 p.m., Aug. 19
Where: Savannah’s Cultural Arts Center, 201 Montgomery St., Savannah.
Tickets: Start at $40, $60 for premium seating
Info: 855-766-7372, email info@savannahvoicefestival.org, or visit savannahvoicefestival.org.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah Voice Festival caps 11th season with Puccini's 'Madama Butterfly'
