FULL Mme Butterfly: The One Man Opera (Michael Finnissy) London 2013 Ignacio Jarquin

Information on the Performance

• Work Title: Mme Butterfly: The One Man Opera  
• Composer: Finnissy Michael   
• Libretto: Andrew G Marshall    Libretto Text, Libretto Index
• Venue & Opera Company: London, UK  
• Recorded: August 3 & 4, 2013
• Type: Staged Opera Live
• Singers: Ignacio Jarquin
• Conductor:   
• Orchestra:
• Choreographer: Akiko Ono  
• Stage Director: Miranda Henderson  
• Costume Designer:   

Information about the Recording

• Published by: tete a tete  
• Date Published: 2013  
• Format: Streaming
• Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
• Subtitles: nosubs  

• ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE

  Fast forward thirty years from the end of Puccini’s iconic opera, Butterfly’s son has travelled to America to meet his father for the first time. However, Pinkerton has become a politician and is campaigning for election as Senator. Will he reject or embrace his only child? Supported by Arts Council England.

  Recommended reading: Pierre Loti, Madame Chrysanthème

  Genesis

  Intrigued by Butterfly’s son’s fate after his mother’s suicide and father’s abandonment, I stumbled across the real life couple who inspired the story, and their son: Tomisaburo Glover. Beyond the passionate love story of his parents, he embodies modern issues about identity and father/son relationships. Michael Finnissy had also been intrigued by Puccini’s music, and how the story could be told using both contemporary and Japanese music forms.

  Synopsis

  The mid-­‐nineteen-­‐thirties. In the entrance hall of the Governor’s mansion in Atlanta, Georgia (USA), a man sits waiting; he has been waiting for the last three days. We discover that he is Tomisaburo, the son of Madam Butterfly and Lieutenant Pinkerton (from the iconic Puccini opera). 35 years after his mother’s suicide, Tomisaburo has journeyed to America in the hope of meeting his father for the first time. In his suitcase are two things his mother’s servant, Suzuki, gave him on her deathbed: his mother’s wedding fan, and the dagger with which his grandfather sacrificed himself for the honour of the Emperor. However, B. F. Pinkerton is now Governor of Georgia and campaigning to be elected to the Senate. Behind the door – that separates public from private space at the mansion – the campaign staff are arguing about how best to deal with the arrival of their candidate’s illegitimate, mixed-­‐race son. Pinkerton’s wife has a plan to rescue her husband’s reputation, but will he co-­‐operate? How much does Tomisaburo know about the true nature of his parents’ marriage, or his mother’s death? Will Pinkerton reject or embrace his only child, and how will his son react?

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