Between June 30th and July 22nd, the Teatro Real will offer 19 performances of Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, with musical direction by Nicola Luisotti, who will conduct four casts and the Teatro Real’s Titular Chorus and Orchestra in 16 performances. Luis Miguel Méndez will conduct the opera on 5, 11 and 17 July. Tickets can be purchased at this link.
Damiano Michieletto’s stage direction moves away from orientalist aestheticism to lay bare the cruelty of the business of buying and selling to which Cio-Cio-San falls victim, as it appears in the libretto: bought at the beginning of the opera by an American sailor and offered for sale to a Japanese prince, when he disappears.
Four pairs of fantastic singers alternate in the two leading roles: in the title role, sopranos Saioa Hernández, Ailyn Pérez, Lianna Haroutounian and Aleksandra Kurzak; and as Pinkerton, tenors Matthew Polenzani, Charles Castronovo, Michael Fabiano and Leonardo Capalbo.
The performances of Madama Butterfly are dedicated to Victoria de Los Ángeles (1923-2005), the unforgettable interpreter of Cio-Cio-San, on the centenary of her birth, which was commemorated on 1 November. In collaboration with the Fundación Victoria de los Ángeles, the Teatro Real will exhibit the dresses of this great soprano, a very delicate, sensitive and profound performer.
The Teatro Real will host a PhotoEspaña exhibition for the first time. Entitled Puccini photographer, it reveals the composer’s curiosity and sensitivity in exploring the art of portraiture, a hobby he cultivated throughout his life. The images will occupy the foyer, the imperial staircase and the oval on the third floor.
