'Butterfly' takes to the sky
By Bethany Dulis
Contributing Reviewer

There’s more than one game in town. For students seeking a cultural counterpoint last weekend to their night at the Dixie Classic Fair, the Piedmont Opera Company offered the perfect complement with a performance of Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. The first of two works in the company’s 2001-2002 season, the tragic opera had three performances in the School of the Arts’ Stevens Center downtown. With English subtitles to the Italian libretto projected above the stage, the two and a half hour performance was sung by an international cast, which included adjunct music professor Laura Ingram Moore in the role of Kate Pinkerton.

With works such as Madama Butterfly, La Boheme and Tosca, Puccini is a perennial favorite for small opera companies. His works contain all the essential elements for both veteran opera lovers and students who may be new to the art form – passionate and lyrical Italian arias, high drama and simple story lines. Written in 1904, Madama Butterfly centers around the devotion of a young Japanese girl, Butterfly (soprano Guiping Deng) and the tragedy that results when her American husband B. F. Pinkerton (tenor José Luis Duval), a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, deserts her. Puccini’s opera is a story of an intercultural, interracial love affair and its resulting complications. Conflict arises from the question of loyalty to religion, family, and country — difficulties that could be resolved, it is implied, if love were faithful and respectful of sacrifices made.

Psychologically speaking, the principal roles both demand sensitivity and significant character development. Butterfly must come to understand that the love she meant to last forever was only a game to her adored husband, while Pinkerton is left to wrestle with unexpected remorse when he realizes what his betrayal has cost a happy young woman.

Deng sang the role of Butterfly with sensitivity and skill, while displaying considerable acting talent in portraying a young girl’s innocence, passion, and disillusionment. At times, however, her voice seemed to be at odds with the enthusiasm of the accompanying Piedmont Triad Symphony, which threatened to overpower her more than once. The second lead, mezzo-soprano Xui-Ru Liu, had no problems, however, triumphing in the role of Butterfly’s maid, Suzuki, with a mellifluous, distinctive, powerful voice.

The male side of the cast experienced an equivalent imbalance. Lead tenor Duval sang with control and expression, but, vocally speaking, did not match the richness and projection of Consulate Sharpless (baritone Robert Overman). Although they had second billing, both Liu and Overman received some of the evening’s most enthusiastic audience responses.

The other cast members turned in solid, if not particularly memorable, performances. The chorus (which included alumna Karon Click), although experiencing a serious lack of male voices (all too common in regional opera), brought life to the stage.

The stage setting, while simple, created a believable, unobtrusive atmosphere – especially effective was the use of backlighting to illuminate silhouettes within the paneled house on stage. With the exception of Butterfly’s white wedding-night gown, the costumes were unremarkable. The overall effect of the staging, however, was convincing and effective, complementing the principals’ talent well.

The Piedmont Opera will perform Mozart’s comic opera The Barber of Seville in April. Student tickets will be available.