M.BUTTERFLY (Huang Ruo) Beijing 2023 Liu YuQi, Jin XiangRen

Information on the Performance

• Work Title: M.Butterfly  
• Composer: Huang Ruo  
• Libretto: David Henry Hwang    Libretto Text, Libretto Index
• Venue & Opera Company: DaHua City Theater, Beijing, China  
• Recorded: December 4, 2023
• Type: Staged Opera Live
• Singers: Liu YuQi, Jin XiangRen
• Conductor: Guo YiXuan  
• Orchestra:
• Stage Director: Guo YiXuan  
• Costume Designer:   

Information about the Recording

• Published by: No.43 Ma  
• Date Published: 2024  
• Format: Streaming
• Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
• Subtitles: yessubs, ensubs, cnsubs  
• This Recording is NOT AVAILABLE from a proper commercial or public source

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE

M. Butterfly is a play by David Henry Hwang. The story, while entwined with that of the opera Madama Butterfly, is based most directly on the relationship between French diplomat Bernard Boursicot and Shi Pei Pu, a Beijing opera singer. The play premiered on Broadway in 1988 and won the 1988 Tony Award for Best Play. In addition to this, it was a Pulitzer Prize for Drama finalist in 1989.

Opera adaptation
In July 2022, an opera adaptation ran at the Santa Fe Opera House after being delayed for two years by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was directed by James Robinson and composed by Huang Ruo, with a libretto by Hwang. The leads were played by Mark Stone and Kangmin Justin Kim. One reviewer expressed mixed feelings about the performance, questioning the longevity and adaptability of M. Butterfly in a world of continuously evolving attitudes. The production also played for one night at the Barbican Centre in London in October 2024 with Mark Stone and Kangmin Justin Kim reprising their roles, re-staged by Kimberley S Prescott. This performance was a co-production between the Barbican and the BBC Symphony Orchestra; and performed as a staged concert. The performance was recorded by BBC Radio 3 for a deferred broadcast.

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