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[Met Tour] CID:156690
Madama Butterfly
Boston Opera House, Boston, Massachusetts, Sat, April 14, 1951 Matinee
Madama Butterfly (308)
Giacomo Puccini | Luigi Illica/ Giuseppe Giacosa
Review 1:
Review signed H. S. T. in the Boston Herald
‘Madama Butterfly’
Lt. Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton, U. S, N., can hardly be compared to an experienced operatic rake like Don Giovanni, but yesterday afternoon left no doubt that the bounder’s affair with poor Butterfly really does have some of the fire and emotional fury of a great love.
The baton of Alberto Erede, Dorothy Kirsten, Eugene Conley and Giuseppe Valdengo accompanied the well-nigh impossible – breathing fervor and credibility to a standard set piece by virtue of lyric melody. “Madama Butterfly” has a libretto derived from Belasco that reads like “East Lynne” set to music. But with Conley, Kirsten and Valdengo playing as though they believed wholeheartedly in these things, an Oriental miracle occurs.
The Butterfly of Dorothy Kirsten becomes a revelation. Here dramatically and vocally is a soprano of many shadings. The second act belongs to her, and yesterday she made “Un bel di vedremo” a moment for Puccini’s public to treasure. Her Butterfly is a woman first and a soprano second: her vocal quality is clear and firmly focused but her intelligent characterization gives one the impression she is playing a role instead of at it, as is the case with so many divas.
Equally revealing is the tenor of Eugene Conley, the love-goaded Count Almaviva of last Wednesday night. Mr. Conley only promised the richness and darkening of texture that is his in the role of Pinkerton. There were moments then when his tone seemed a trifle lusterless and his production limited. Yesterday the minor flaws were missing in his passionate “O Night of Rapture” and the poetic “Viene la sera,” full-bodied and intense, his voice and performance were one.
Giuseppe Valdengo as the ubiquitous Sharpless sang with exactitude and power; Lucielle Browning as Suzuki was convincing and contributed to the musical moments mightily. The scenery designed and painted by joseph Urban in 1922 and repainted by Joseph Novak in 1941, is familiar, yet still pleasing, while the conducting of Alberto Erede moved the work at a brisk pace.
Search by season: 1950-51
Search by title: Madama Butterfly,
Met careers
Madama Butterfly
Boston Opera House, Boston, Massachusetts, Sat, April 14, 1951 Matinee
Madama Butterfly (308)
Giacomo Puccini | Luigi Illica/ Giuseppe Giacosa
- Cio-Cio-San
- Dorothy Kirsten
- Pinkerton
- Eugene Conley
- Suzuki
- Lucielle Browning
- Sharpless
- Giuseppe Valdengo
- Goro
- Alessio De Paolis
- Bonze
- Lorenzo Alvary
- Yamadori
- George Cehanovsky
- Kate Pinkerton
- Lucine Amara
- Commissioner
- Clifford Harvuot
- Conductor
- Alberto Erede
Review 1:
Review signed H. S. T. in the Boston Herald
‘Madama Butterfly’
Lt. Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton, U. S, N., can hardly be compared to an experienced operatic rake like Don Giovanni, but yesterday afternoon left no doubt that the bounder’s affair with poor Butterfly really does have some of the fire and emotional fury of a great love.
The baton of Alberto Erede, Dorothy Kirsten, Eugene Conley and Giuseppe Valdengo accompanied the well-nigh impossible – breathing fervor and credibility to a standard set piece by virtue of lyric melody. “Madama Butterfly” has a libretto derived from Belasco that reads like “East Lynne” set to music. But with Conley, Kirsten and Valdengo playing as though they believed wholeheartedly in these things, an Oriental miracle occurs.
The Butterfly of Dorothy Kirsten becomes a revelation. Here dramatically and vocally is a soprano of many shadings. The second act belongs to her, and yesterday she made “Un bel di vedremo” a moment for Puccini’s public to treasure. Her Butterfly is a woman first and a soprano second: her vocal quality is clear and firmly focused but her intelligent characterization gives one the impression she is playing a role instead of at it, as is the case with so many divas.
Equally revealing is the tenor of Eugene Conley, the love-goaded Count Almaviva of last Wednesday night. Mr. Conley only promised the richness and darkening of texture that is his in the role of Pinkerton. There were moments then when his tone seemed a trifle lusterless and his production limited. Yesterday the minor flaws were missing in his passionate “O Night of Rapture” and the poetic “Viene la sera,” full-bodied and intense, his voice and performance were one.
Giuseppe Valdengo as the ubiquitous Sharpless sang with exactitude and power; Lucielle Browning as Suzuki was convincing and contributed to the musical moments mightily. The scenery designed and painted by joseph Urban in 1922 and repainted by Joseph Novak in 1941, is familiar, yet still pleasing, while the conducting of Alberto Erede moved the work at a brisk pace.
Search by season: 1950-51
Search by title: Madama Butterfly,
Met careers