Dig Deeper: The Butterfly Process

Welcome to CODA! Coda comes from the Latin word for “tail,” and in music, it indicates an additional passage at the end of a piece of music, a final flourish that compliments what’s come before. CODA goes beyond the curtain call to explore this unique and astonishing art form. Whether you’re a first-time opera-goer or a seasoned audience member, CODA is for you. Biweekly, we’ll enhance your experience of opera with behind-the-scenes highlights, educational articles, listening lists, and much, much more!?

We are inching closer to the opening night of Madama Butterfly, and excitement at BLO is at an all-time high! Our reimagined production of this canonical classic takes the opera’s history of inaccurate representations of Japanese culture into account and takes steps to incorporate its legacy in a way that celebrates opera as a multicultural art form.

Spurred by our postponed production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly for Boston Lyric Opera’s 2020/21 Season, BLO began conversations with Butterfly artists, staff, and community aiming to reexamine the history and legacy of this opera. This examination became The Butterfly Process, a comprehensive exploration of how historic operas like Madama Butterfly can be presented more thoughtfully and inclusively for today’s audiences. Throughout this process, we engaged artists, board members, community leaders, cultural organizations, and preeminent scholars to discuss Madama Butterfly, particularly around the areas of cultural appropriation, race, and gender stereotypes—and the wide-ranging impact of this opera for Asian and Asian American artists.

This new production is the culmination of these discussions and reflections from The Butterfly Process. We are moving Puccini’s lush and sweeping score, to 1940s America under the shadow of World War II. Experience the nightlife of San Francisco on the eve of Pearl Harbor through the story of Butterfly, a nightclub performer contributing to the war effort, and Pinkerton, a young soldier, on the eve of his deployment.?

This week, we’ll take you inside The Butterfly Process.

The Discussion Series

BLO hosted six public discussions throughout the 2021/22 Season, hosted and moderated by Phil Chan , co-founder and author of Final Bow for Yellowface, who partnered with BLO to develop and facilitate this series, featuring invited speakers and members of BLO’s previously-planned Butterfly cast. Through these discussions, Phil and company explore issues tied to the historical impact and current producing realities of Madama Butterfly. The topics are:?

The Birth of Butterfly through WWII: The First 50 Years focuses on the socio-political context during the time of Madama Butterfly’s premiere and what changed with World War II. Puccini scholar Dr. Kunio Hara speaks with Phil Chan and BLO artists, followed by a community discussion.

Orientalism & Cultural Appropriation focuses on Orientalism’s influence on Western European Art and by extension, how Eurocentric art— Madama Butterfly specifically—has historically defined attitudes about AAPI people and cultures. Featuring professor of American Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Mari Yoshihara , director of the Asian and Asian American Arts and Culture Program at the UMass Fine Arts Center, Michael Sakamoto , Josephine Lee, and composer Huang Ruo.

Symbolism & Archetypes of Women delves into the cultural context of geisha in Japan as it relates to the character of Cio–Cio-San (Butterfly) in Madama Butterfly, and how depictions of this character have perpetuated sexualized stereotypes of Asian and AAPI women in American culture. Featuring opera singers Teiya Kasahara and Yunah Lee, and stage director Giselle Ty.

Casting the Roles unpacks the nuances within ongoing industry conversations about appropriate casting and performance practices, and what it means to engage in culturally-sensitive, inclusive, and responsive practices that center the story being told, who is telling the story, and who makes up the audience. Featuring Artistic Director of Portland Opera, Priti Gandhi , librettist David Henry Hwang, conductor Benjamin Makino , and pianist/vocal coach Douglas Sumi .

Learning & Sharing turns the spotlight to the BLOcommunity and the opera industry, reflecting on what we learned and where we are going from here—both specifically for the opera Madama Butterfly and more broadly. Featuring BLO casting consultant Jessica Johnson Brock , General and Artistic Director of?New Orleans Opera, Clare Burovac ,? BLO board member Anne M. Morgan, BLO artistic advisor Nina Yoshida Nelsen , and BLO General Director and CEO,? Bradley Vernatter , Presented with New Orleans Opera, a partner in this series.

Join us this September, and experience Madama Butterfly like never before.?

We are proud to announce our 2023/24 mainstage season: Madama Butterfly, La Cenerentola (Cinderella), The Anonymous Lover, and Eurydice. Join us for a season that explores the power, depth, and complexity of our most human of emotions: love.

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