FULL M.BUTTERFLY (Huang Ruo) Works & Process Documentary Santa Fe NM 2022 Joshua Dennis, Michael Hawk, Kangmin Justin Kim

Information on the Performance

• Work Title: M.BUTTERFLY   
• Composer: Huang Ruo  
• Libretto: David Henry Hwang  
• Venue & Opera Company: Santa Fe Opera, New Mexico  
• Recorded: July 2022
• Type: Other
• Singers: Joshua Dennis, Michael Hawk, Kangmin Justin Kim
• Conductor:   
• Orchestra: John Arida, PIANO  
• Stage Director:   
• Costume Designer:   

Information about the Recording

• Published by: Works & Process  
• Date Published: 2022  
• Format: Streaming
• Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
• Subtitles: yessubs, ensubs, gensubs  

• ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE

  Composer Huang Ruo and writer David Henry Hwang discuss their newest collaboration, “M. Butterfly蝴蝶君,” with moderation by Jim Robinson.
  Inspired by the true story of a French diplomat who carried on a twenty-year love affair with a star of the Peking Opera, “M. Butterfly蝴蝶君” is based on Hwang’s 1988 Pulitzer Prize finalist and Tony Award–winning Broadway play of the same name. Hear excerpts ahead of the production’s world premiere as part of Santa Fe Opera’s 2022 season.

  PANEL (in alphabetical order) David Henry Hwang, Librettist James Robinson, Director and Moderator Huang Ruo, Composer

  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.

  (Visited 11 times, 1 visits today)