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DVD : Puccini - Madama Butterfly / Maazel, Hayashi, Kim, Dvorsky, Teatro Alla Scala
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Puccini - Madama Butterfly / Maazel, Hayashi, Kim, Dvorsky, Teatro Alla Scala starring: Yasuko Hayashi, Hack-Nam Kim, Anna Caterina Antonacci, Peter Dvorsky (II), Giorgio Zancanaro directed by: Derek Bailey |
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: DVD EAN: 0014381930023 Format: Classical, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC Label: Image Entertainment Manufacturer: Image Entertainment Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Image Entertainment Region Code: 1 Release Date: December 11, 2001 Running Time: 142 minutes Studio: Image Entertainment Theatrical Release Date: 1987 Sales Rank: 99441 Related Items:
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Editorial Review: Description: Madama Butterfly is one of the most-performed stage works in the world and is considered the pivotal opera of Puccini's career. This exquisite and highly acclaimed production from La Scala presents the tragic tale of a woman's relentless struggle within a traditionally conformist society and a loveless marriage. Japanese director Keita Asari cast two of the Far East's leading singers in the coveted female roles and collaborated with Japanese specialists on lighting, choreography and design. The result is a uniquely stylized and authentic production, subdued like an Oriental watercolor on a silk canvas, beautifully bringing to life Madama Butterfly's metamorphosis. Lorin Maazel conducts the Chorus and Orchestra of Teatro Alla Scala, Milan. Amazon.com: What distinguishes this excellent production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly from others is its intensely Japanese flavor. La Scala engaged a Japanese director, and he adopted many conventions of Japanese theater, including the dark-clad stagehands, whom the audience is supposed to not notice, a Zen-style rock garden rather than the profusion of blossoms usually seen, and the use of red fabrics (ribbon and rug) to symbolize the blood in the suicide scene. The singing and acting often has a Japanese restraint (unexpected but not unwelcome in an Italian opera house). The Japanese Cio-Cio-San (Hayashi Yasuko) and Korean Suzuki (Hack-Nam Kim) give a special authenticity to the casting. An Italian singer, Ernesto Gavazzi, has the role of the slimy marriage broker, Goro, but this works quite well because Goro has adopted Western mannerisms. George Dvorsky is a convincing Pinkerton, Giorgio Zancanaro is a sympathetic Sharpless, and the singing is good throughout, though seldom electrifying. --Joe McLellan Customer Reviews
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 Rating:  - Another Asian ButterflyHere we have yet another Asian Madama Butterfly, with Yasuko Hayashi in the title role and Hak-Nam Kim as Suzuki. Peter Dvorsky's Pinkerton is a little brash, but then he is no prince charming. Giorgio Zancanaro is superb as Sharpless, this man has one of the best baritone voices on the planet. This production from La Scala is of the traditional Kabuki theatre style of Japan. Who better to stage an opera set in Japan, than the Japanese. For those who are not familiar with Kabuki, the basic rules are thus: Any persons dressed in black are NOT actually there. Your minds eye is not meant to see them as they work the sets etc. In other words they are the visible- invisible mechanics of the production. Hard for us Westerners to comprehend, but that ... Read More: Rating: - Catch this ButterflyIf one can get over a need for superstars in this opera, here is the DVD to have. Directed by a Japanese director for La Scala, it is totally convincing. Butterfly and Susuki don't have to pretend that they are small Oriental women because they ARE small Oriental women. Hayashi, who sings the title role, does not have as much strength in her lower register as a western soprano but she embodies the role completely. Susuki is excellent in voice and appearance. Dvorsky's Pinkerton is one dimensional...but that's the kind of person who would marry a Butterfly and then forget about her. One cannot say enough good about Zancanaro's Sharpless. Here is a singer whose every line is beatifully shaped. His voice is effortlessly and evenly produced ... Read More: Rating: - Puccini goes KabukiIt's easy to come to this opera with a lot of expectations and if you are looking for a conventional approach this somewhat low-keyed version may not appeal to you. But if you are in the mood for something different then this stylish and skillful production could be just your cup of tea. The show has been directed attentively in oriental style. The stylized movement and the dramaturgy, costumes and settings all reflect an eastern approach and give the opera a rare sense of authenticity. The cherry blossoms are in full bloom here and you might actually think you were in Japan for a few hours. All the power and glory of Puccini's masterpiece are here in abundance. There are no doubt more melodramatic versions but I found this one to ... Read More: Rating: - Blame PucciniYes, Cio-cio San is supposed to be a delicate Japanese teenage girl, but the music Puccini wrote for her to sing would be impossible for any teenage soprano to sing. This is heavy, loud singing that Puccini demands from the soprano. Only sopranos with mature, big voices can, and should, sing this role. So, stop carping about fat sopranos singing Cio-cio San. Most sopranos with mature, big voices have big bodies. Get over it! Rating:  - I was disappointedI thought this performance was cold. I thought Butterfly's voice was weak in her entrance and in Un bel di, though strong during the love duet and adequate the rest of the time. I was stunned to find out at last (I never read librettos) what Butterfly and Pinkerton are saying to each other during the duet. She is rhapsodizing about flowers and oceans and stars, and he's pleading vehemently with her to shut up and come to bed! It's their wedding night. From the professional Amazon reviewer I learned that the staging was Japanese. I thought it was beautiful, perfectly and artfully done, but I also thought it was inappropriate for the deeply emotional music and story, it is after all an Italian opera. The artifice that impressed me the most was ... Read More: |
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