 
 
Madama Butterfly is one of the opera hits
and when I think of the Queen's Jubilee
last summer
there was a tremendous amount of
discussion between my camp and the BBC
about what I would sing.
And I discovered really in this discussion
that their are
only 3 extraordinarily popular arias.
There's "O mio babbino caro" -- they're all Puccini, by the way --
There's the aria from Tosca, "Vissi d'arte"
And there's "Un bel di." 
"Un bel di" I started learning when I was about
eleven-years-old. I know, it's completely
wrong had no idea what it was about but
I love the music.
And that's the thing I think that draws
people to Puccini's repertoire
is first and foremost the
tunes
but then this pathos in this role. I mean,
the heartbreak of this story
you cannot sit through Madama Butterfly
and not be moved.
I'm so happy that we're doing it again
with the great Pat Racette who I love
in this part. 
Anthony: Absolutely it's wonderful to welcome Pat back to lyric
She's a great favorite here and it's
become
maybe her signature role. She's sung it all
over the world
And sharing the role of Cio-Cio-San
with Pat
will be the exciting young South African
soprano
Amanda Echalaz, whose also made this role,
and
other Puccini heroines, something of a specialty.
Sir Andrew: I'm looking forward
to hearing both. Pat, of course,
she's one of the greatest singing
actresses
we have and just to experience her
Butterfly
I can't think of much that's more
moving
in any opera. Renee: It's also -- she
makes it sound easy.
I mean, I would give anything to be
able to sing this role.
This and Tosca -- huge heartbreak for me
that I don't have the voice for these roles.
But she in particular -- you know, the
final act is so long and so heart-wrentchingly
challenging from this
dramatic and vocal standpoint,
and she sails through it its remarkable.
Anthony: And just as we have two Butterflies,
we have two Pinkertons.
Singing with Amanda Echalaz,
who opens the run,
is James Valenti, an exciting young
American tenor.
And singing Pinkerton with Patricia
Racette is
Stefano Secco. And as Sharpless,
making his Lyric debut, a very
interesting
British baritone, Christopher Purves.
Sir Andrew: I've known Chris's
quite a while actually. Anthony: Me too, and he's a real singing actor,
and he brings a heart and an intensity
to what can be a thankless role. And
makes the encounter between Butterfly
and Sharpless
extremely moving. Sir Andrew: Yes, because he's a character that
is on one hand sympathetic, on the other
hand
ineffectual, and you know it's
a very difficult role to bring off,
to get the complexity of it, I think.
Anthony: And making
his debut with us, an exciting Italian
conductor who has a major career all
over the world, has conducted many, many
times at the Met:
Marco Armiliato. Sir Andrew: I'm very pleased
about that because his
appearance here is overdue. And
he is, as you say, is one of the
most important conductors of his
generation. Renee: I've worked a lot with
Marco, and he is a true singers conductor. He's incredibly collaborative and
understanding of what we need.
But he knows a repertoire inside and out, and
can conduct most anything, probably from
memory at this point. 
Anthony: And that understanding
is so important for this opera, which is truly
a cantata for soprano and orchestra.
If ever an opera has a central role that
dominates it
it's Madama Butterfly. Renee: It's also very good time, I think, to examine the history of the piece.
The imperialism is represented both
you know we've had many pieces 
that represent British imperialism,
but in this case American imperialism.
And it's an opportunity to really
think about these larger issues in the
world today.
Sir Andrew: I love that story, because
course there is a quotation of
"The Star-Spangled Banner." There's an Italian who comes over to America,
and he's going to some
big event, game or something, and they
start to play the National Anthem,
and he says,
"Ah! Madama Butterfly!"
Anthony: And this production will be brand new to Chicago.
It's a production that I actually
commissioned in Houston a few years ago,
directed by
the wonderful major British theatre
director Michael Grandage,
who has won so many awards now for his
productions on both sides of the Atlantic.
 
His production of "Red" was a multi
Tony-winning
production on Broadway. He's
directed the most recent
revival of "Evita" on Broadway, which was also
great success.
Renee: His "Don Carlos" -- the play, the
Schiller play --
is my favorite theatrical experience in
recent years. Anthony: It was really remarkable.
And he's a a director who works in such
detail
with singers. I think it will be
a really exciting step in a new
direction
for what is one of the most popular
operas have all time.
What's so interesting about this
"Butterfly" production is that it's very
pure
it's very lean, aesthetically,
it's almost like Greek tragedy. It's very
beautiful to look at.
It's very Japanese, there's nothing
transposed about the period or the
location in which it is set.
And yet, the whole production is
focused on
the characters and Cio-Cio-San, the
central figure in particular.
For me, producing new productions
of the most popular repertoire is
always the most challenging
of all, in that one has to find a way of
both
providing audiences with what they are
expecting,
while at the same time, making the
experience vivid,
exciting, theatrical -- not just
a nostalgic journey down memory lane,
reminding of wonderful tunes. Sir Andrew: No
no, that's right, and I think
we are in the process of
doing new productions of quite a lot of
standard repertoire, you might say.
This is a very important one in that scenario. Renee: In our generation really
also that audiences have come to expect
a theatrical experience, a FULLY theatrical experience,
and so that's a great challenge
for us, and we're trying to meet it, and
it's incredibly important, and that's
what I want when I go to the opera. Anthony: Yes, me too,
and that is how with focused, that's
the point of why we're all here,
the point of what we're seeking to do,
scraping away the
years of accumulated varnish around a
piece,
and really homing in on its essence.
That's what a great performance of opera
can deliver, with a power,
with an impact,
with a transformational thrill
that no other art form can match.
