The 'Sorrow' girls bring joy to Seattle Opera

Twins Scarlett (left) and Hazel (right) Del Rosario pose backstage with soprano Yasko Sato (Cio-Cio-San). The 7-year-old sisters alternated as Sorrow, Butterfly's child. Photo by Renee Rapier. 

By Lauren Brigolin 

Those who saw Madame Butterfly twice may have had the opportunity to experience dramatic performances by two sets of sopranos and tenors. But there was another another character who was double-cast—the child of Cio-Cio-San and Pinkerton’s doomed romance. In Seattle Opera’s recent production, this role of “Sorrow” was played by 7-year-old fraternal twins: Scarlett and Hazel del Rosario. The sisters shared the same black wig for their performances, which allowed them to transform into Butterfly’s little boy. 

The twins getting a fitting for the wig they shared for the role of Sorrow. Photo by Liesl Gatcheco. 

While the girls had performed in school plays, Butterfly was the first professional production they’ve been in together. The experience has clearly been one to remember; the girls practically explode with energy and excitement in describing their summer with the opera.

“It was amazing,” says Scarlett, who performed with soprano Lianna Haroutounian. Hazel, whose favorite part was being spun in the air by “mom” Yasko Sato adds: “So fun! Once I got off the stage I screamed, ‘fun!’”

The girls’ father, DJ del Rosario, says each twin had their own take on the role—much of the blocking onstage came from their own impulses. For example, the girls got to choose whether they wanted to hug Pinkerton or Sharpless.

Scarlett in costume as Sorrow with her sister, Hazel, backstage. 

It helped to have a cast and creative team who were so welcoming.

“Maestro (Carlo Montanaro) gave the girls an an opportunity to bow, something we didn't expect and have really been touched by. This is definitely their professional debut," DJ says.

Of course, learning the ropes of performing in an opera took some getting used to. Speaking about the rehearsal process, Hazel says, “I was trying to pretend there was an audience there. It was kind of scary.”

Hazel del Rosario (Sorrow) and Yasko Sato (Cio-Cio-San). Philip Newton photo

Scarlett also says she felt nervous backstage, not always being sure what to do. But then she discovered there was always someone on the cast or crew who was there to help her. After going through the entire process, it was clear that the girls are naturals—devotedly clinging to an anguished Cio-Cio-San, sweetly looking upon their caretaker, Suzuki.

“My favorite part has been to watch their confidence grow. To watch them feel the energy of McCaw filled. To watch them really perform and be in the moment,” DJ says.

Of course, having one’s children commit to being in Madame Butterfly was no small matter. With numerous rehearsals and eight performances, it represented a commitment for the entire family.

And yet, according to DJ: "It’s really worth the time. We rearranged a lot of our lives for this and we’re really happy we did it."

Lianna Haroutounian (Cio-Cio-San) and Scarlett del Rosario (Sorrow). Philip Newton photo

Praise for Madame Butterfly

Alexey Dogov (Pinkerton) and Lianna Haroutounian (Cio-Cio-San). Philip Newton photo

"A magical production filled with eye candy and, most importantly, stunning vocal performances.” – LA Opus

"Every so often a performance – and a performer – have the capacity to completely transport us to a different dimension, emotionally, psychologically and physically. That is the case with Seattle Opera’s new (to Seattle) production of Madame Butterfly." - Seattle P.I.

Lianna Haroutounian (Cio-Cio-San). Philip Newton photo

"The brilliant Lianna Haroutounian, who commanded the stage all evening with an all-out, full-voiced, big-hearted performance that brought out the bravos (and the handkerchiefs).” – The Seattle Times

“The sets are gorgeous—Kabuki meets Miyazaki. The music is deservedly beloved—soaring melodies, rich and complex orchestrations, and gongs!” – The Stranger

Jonathan Silvia (Imperial Commissioner). Philip Newton photo

"The changes it has inspired, audiences may experience this Madame Butterfly in ways never envisioned by its creators.” – The Seattle Times

"So much more than an aural and visual delight." - UW Daily 

Photos above and below: Yasko Sato (Cio-Cio-San) and Dominick Chenes (Pinkerton). Philip Newton photos

"Weston Hurt was an empathetic and noble Sharpless; Renée Rapier a dignified, compelling Suzuki; and Rodell Rosel a wily and adept Goro. In a bit of “luxury casting,” Daniel Sumegi proved an unusually powerful Bonze; Ryan Bede was the hapless Yamadori, and Sarah Mattox gave unexpected and lovely depth to the small but pivotal role of Kate Pinkerton."

"Sato is a lyrical singer and an affecting actress; she can convey vivid emotion in a single gesture or expression, and watching her hopes slowly decline in Cio-Cio-San’s long vigil was heartbreaking.” – The Seattle Times

“Puccini's opera itself gets something of a dusting-off in this production.” - Bachtrack

Philip Newton photo

"The production was one of the most attractive this reviewer has seen, and this was due in large part to the inventiveness of an Australian triumvirate” – "LA Opus

“The design is both simple and beautiful. Set designer Christina Smith created a house cleverly defined by movable screens, imaginatively lighted by Matt Scott with glowing lanterns that illuminated the Act I love duet.” – The Seattle Times

Renée Rapier (Suzuki), Lianna Haroutounian (Cio-Cio-San) and Scarlett Del Rosario (Trouble). Philip Newton photo

"Prepare to weep for Madame Butterfly.” – Equality 365

"This production is rich with unforgettable moments. I am haunted by the heart-rending vision of Cio-Cio San standing outside her home like a statue, waiting hopefully all night for Pinkerton until all of the lanterns are extinguished and darkness is supplanted by day — and still no Pinkerton is in sight." - Queen Anne News 

Philip Newton photo

Madame Butterfly plays now until Aug. 19 at McCaw Hall.
Tickets & info: seattleopera.org/butterfly

'Embrace what makes you unique' - Weston Hurt lives by example

Baritone Weston Hurt is a frequent singer at Seattle Opera, including in roles such as Nabucco, Germont, Talbot and most recently, Sharpless. 

By Lauren Brigolin 

Behind the blue door of Practice Room #1 at Seattle Opera, it might have been easy to miss the soft plunk of piano keys without listening carefully. But what the soundproof walls couldn’t contain after the modest hum of the piano were the rich tones of an accomplished baritone—Weston Hurt. 

​In addition to appearing as Sharpless in Madame Butterfly this August with Seattle Opera, Hurt just finished teaching a master class at the newly-created Seattle Opera Academy—a three-week voice and performance training program for young adults in Bellingham, Wash. This combination of teaching and performing is his dream. Being a role model to young singers, encouraging them to embrace who they are, is a job he takes seriously.

“What I wish I would have known as a young person is, you are your own product and that your uniqueness is everything,” he says.

As a singer born without a right hand, Hurt’s road to singing in great opera houses across the United States was no walk in the park. And the challenges he faced often had nothing to do with his skill as an artist. ​ 

Weston Hurt, center, as Sharpless with Lianna Haroutounian (Cio-Cio-San) and Renée Rapier (Suzuki). Philip Newton photo

When Hurt was only 6-months old, his parents put him into a program so that he could learn to live with a prosthesis. At age 4, he decided he didn’t want to use the artificial body part anymore. He tried to wear one again at 11 and came to the same conclusion—it simply wasn’t comfortable. In the years that followed, the myoelectric prosthesis arrived. The battery-operated limb allowed the hand to open and close through electrical tension generated every time a person’s muscle contracts. Hurt decided to try one. Of course, this was 1991 and the battery lasted all of about eight minutes.

"And then I was like, 'Forget this.' I’m not going down this path. I am who I am,” says the baritone, who fell in love with opera during his freshman year of college after landing the title role in The Marriage of Figaro at Southwestern University.

Hazel Del Rosario (Sorrow) and Weston Hurt (Sharpless) in Madame Butterfly. Philip Newton photo

After completing his music education and successfully making his way through a number of prestigious young artist training programs, Hurt embarked on a myriad of house auditions. Each time he sang for a company, he’d wear a suit and pin or sew the sleeve of the right arm up. While consistently told he sounded fantastic, he was frequently overlooked.

It wasn’t until he sang at the New York International Opera Auditions that he was finally offered a season-long contract with a company who made their conditions clear. In order to perform, Hurt had to have a prosthesis. ​This company wasn’t the only one who felt this way.

Soon after acquiring a cosmetic prosthesis, he began auditioning and “Boom! I started getting gigs and gigs and gigs."

Weston Hurt teaching a master class at the Seattle Opera Academy. Photos by Rachel Bayne 

During a production of Madame Butterfly earlier in his career, the stage director suggested he perform Sharpless without the artificial limb. This presented the opportunity for Hurt to dive into a character study: His Sharpless became truly human—a man who carries deep emotional wounds after surviving a war; someone who understands loss. After his performance, a confusing review came out in a national opera publication. It said that his voice was amazing even though he only had one hand.

The review had a ripple effect.

​"I had to wear my prosthesis for everything. I felt like I had to fit some mold that administrative people, artistic people, or the audience wanted me to be. I got trapped."

Weston Hurt and his daughter. 

In the last few years, Hurt has done away with his prosthesis unless the character or the director’s vision truly calls for it. He began asking himself, if it makes sense for the character to have one hand, why wouldn’t he portray that? Hurt has created backstories for opera characters who have lost their hand in wars, battles, and developed stories for them in a way only he can. When he wore a prosthesis in the beginning it wasn’t for the character, it was so he could fit that mold. 

“I had lost my own uniqueness and my own individuality,” Hurt says.

Being a singer with one hand has led to spectacular theatrical possibilities. He’ll never forget the audible gasps he received each night during one production where he actually got to remove his prosthesis onstage.

Hurt backstage during Madame Butterfly at Seattle Opera. Genevieve Hathaway photo 

Director of Artistic Administration and Planning Aren Der Hacopian says Hurt having one hand is a non-issue as far as casting is concerned. Echoing the artist’s feeling, Der Hacopian says, “Who’s to say these characters have two hands in the first place?” Instead, Der Hacopian says that Seattle Opera embraces Hurt as a person with one hand because it’s part of the incredible package of personality, experience, artistry, and human being that makes Hurt who he is. 

Seattle audiences can now enjoy Hurt in the role of Sharpless, the American consul and friend to the lead tenor, for Madame Butterfly performances on Aug. 9, 12, 13, 16, 18, & 19, 2017. Tickets & info: seattleopera.org/butterfly

​

Our Kate Pinkerton tells a story of Japanese American injustice

Sarah Mattox. Photo by Genevieve Hathaway 

Mezzo-soprano Sarah Mattox plays Kate Pinkerton in Seattle Opera's upcoming Madame Butterfly Aug. 5-19. But she's also a composer and co-librettist of Heart Mountain, the opera, based on the journal of the late Kara Kondo recently directed by Dan Wallace Miller and conducted by Stephen Stubbs

By Lauren Brigolin 

When mezzo-soprano Sarah Mattox takes the stage in Madame Butterfly this August it will be in the role of Kate Pinkerton—wife of the good-for-nothing B.F. Pinkerton who sees his own American culture as superior to Puccini’s Japanese heroine.

“My first thought is, ‘Oh no, I end up with Pinkerton? What a horrible person!’ I’ve always really, really liked the singers who play Pinkerton but, wow the character,” Mattox says.

While offering some of the most beloved music in all of opera, Madame Butterfly tells a harsh tale: A young Japanese woman Cio-Cio-San thinks she’s marrying the man of her dreams—and meanwhile, he (Pinkerton) is toasting to the day he marries “a real American bride.”

Butterfly is a work of fiction. But the fact that westerners hurt people of Japanese ancestry through cultural imperialism, for example, is real. Anti-Japanese attitudes in the early 20th century had devastating consequences—including the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. Years later, the U.S. Government would deem this forced removal of 120,000 people as the result of “racism, wartime hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.”

It’s this very injustice that’s motivated Mattox. Ironically, her character is married to an oppressor of Japanese people in Butterfly. But in her work outside of Seattle Opera, the opera singer (also a composer and librettist) has used her artistic medium to elevate one Japanese American woman’s story.

Kara Kondo (1916 - 2005). Photo: Gordon King from Yakima Herald Republic file.

FINDING INSPIRATION
On June 6, 1942, Kara Matsushita Kondo was removed from her long-time home along with 1,300 other Japanese Americans who lived in Yakima Valley. Kondo kept a journal during her time living behind barbed wire, and it was her words that would inspire Mattox’s opera.

In 2012, the chamber music ensemble that Mattox performs with, TangleTown Trio, was hired by Yakima Valley Museum for a special performance. Prior to the event, the trio worked with event coordinators to decide on programming. The coordinators hired the group based on Mattox's song cycle, “Rumpelstiltskin and the Falcon King” but it was only half an hour, when they wanted a 45-minute concert.

Show poster for "Heart Mountain" from the Vespertine Opera Theater.

“I said, ‘well, you are a history museum. Can I write something on your local history?’”

The people at the museum loved the idea. To help her get started, they sent the opera artist information from museum displays, including material from the “Land of Joy and Sorrow: Japanese Pioneers in the Yakima Valley.” This exhibit chronicled the forced relocation of Japanese families to Heart Mountain, Wyoming in 1942, and their re-emergence as a community in the Yakima Valley after World War II.

Out of everything that the museum had sent, Mattox realized that the words that were inspiring her all came from the same source.

"There are just certain lines that speak in a poetic way that leap on your face and won’t let go,” she says. “I kept reading them and all the ones that leapt out and grabbed me said, ‘from the journal of Kara Kondo.’”

A JAPANESE AMERICAN STORY 
Mattox had a clear mission: obtain a copy of that journal.

Kondo passed away in 2005 at the age of 89. But the museum was able to help Mattox contact her daughter, Elaine Kondo-McEwan. McEwan had just finished typing up her mom’s journal as a Christmas gift for her family and was able to provide Mattox with a PDF version.

“It was two in the afternoon when I opened it up and I started reading and it got dark without me even noticing. It was just absorbing,” Mattox says.

The journal included various scenes from Kondo’s life she had written down, as well as some poetry, which Mattox incorporated into the libretto.

While she had originally only needed to compose 15 minutes of music, it soon became clear that Kondo's journal represented a much longer, more involved project. Mattox premiered two arias at the museum to an audience that included those who had known and loved the late Kondo. Several scenes were premiered at the 2014 John Duffy Composers Institute, where Mattox was selected as a Composition Fellow.

The final, two-hour opera focuses on Kondo, her sisters, and the profound effect that living behind barbed wire had on their lives. During her creative process, Mattox also reached out to the Seattle chapter of the Japanese American Citizen League and other local Japanese American organizations because, she says, “it’s their story.” Additionally, two soloists featured in Mattox's production were granddaughters of Heart Mountain incarcerees.

THE ROAD TO HEART MOUNTAIN 
Operas are known for being long. But if one could see an opera written down, he or she might think they’re short. (It can take many seconds to sustain a single note with the drama, flair and skill of a professional opera singer!).

“The most important part of writing an effective libretto is in cutting it down to its barest essentials. So it can work in an uncluttered way onstage,” Mattox says.

Heart Mountain went through multiple rounds of edits. Mattox continued to refine the piece following two staged performances directed by Dan Wallace Miller and conducted by Stephen Stubbs for Vespertine Opera Theater in partnership with the Yakima Valley Museum. Seeing audience members moved by Kondo’s story made Mattox happy.

It can be difficult to wrap one's brain around the injustice of 120,000 people being wrongfully imprisoned by the United States Government. But Kondo (whom Mattox credits as the co-librettist of the opera) has a way of making this painful topic accessible to everyone.

"The power of Kara Kondo’s writing lies in her ability to share this overwhelming story in small, intimate scenes ... It’s a rare talent, and she used it beautifully, inviting the listener to become a part of her story.”

Heart Mountain Relocation Center Memorial Park plaque in  Park County, Wyoming.

BACK TO BUTTERFLY 
Mattox is still working on re-writes of Heart Mountain and hopes to mount a larger performance after a few tweaks. But before her work takes the stage again, the mezzo-soprano is looking forward to performing at McCaw Hall. While she will sing the role of Kate Pinkerton this time, Mattox has more frequently performed as Suzuki, Butterfly’s faithful servant (and in fact, she's covering the role for this upcoming production).  

Suzuki is a character who truly gets what’s going on, even while Cio-Cio-San fails to realize that Pinkerton doesn’t intend on staying committed to her. Getting to play Suzuki has made Mattox more empathetic and aware of marginalized people—because through Pinkerton, one sees how ugly and hurtful American cultural dominance can be. Butterfly offers a lot to think about in that way, she says.

“I hope people can come to a better understanding of multiculturalism. I hope each audience member can embrace that other cultures are just as deserving of respect as their own.”

Heart Mountain, the 124-acre Japanese Internment Camp that was used in 1942.

AIDAN LANG INTRODUCES MADAME BUTTERFLY

Listen to or read this downloadable podcast by General Director Aidan Lang. Puccini’s powerful Madame Butterfly returns to Seattle this August (eight performances, August 5-19). Aidan considers Madame Butterfly Puccini’s greatest tragedy and, in this podcast, explains both its human story and its anti-imperialist indictment of the politics of colonialism.

Hello, everyone! This is Aidan Lang, and here I am again to talk about our summer opera, which is Puccini’s Madame Butterfly.

Madame Butterfly is, according to those lists of ‘most-performed operas,’ always in the top three most-performed operas in any given year around the world. That’s perfectly understandable: it has everything on the surface which an opera needs. It has romance, it has tragedy, it has incredibly beautiful music, and it’s normally depicted in a very attractive, visually appealing fashion.

Asian American partners inspire new understanding of Madame Butterfly

Panelists for Seattle Opera's upcoming panel: "Asian American Arts Leaders Respond to Madame Butterfly" include (clockwise from top, left): The Shanghai Pearl, Matthew Ozawa, Angel Alviar-Langley, Karl Reyes, Roger Tang, LeiLani Nishime, Frank Abe, moderator, and Kathy Hsieh

With stylized sets inspired by Japanese theater and lush, colorful kimono worn by singers, Seattle Opera’s grand production of Madame Butterfly coming this August may seem like business-as-usual. But there’s a dramatic difference that sets this Butterfly apart: the broader conversation taking place on cultural appropriation, yellowface, and Asian American representation. While certainly not new to many Asian and Pacific Islanders, these conversations have permeated the Puget Sound theater scene for the past several years following a production of The Mikado that made national news. 

In many ways, this dialogue is a direct challenge to how opera has been done in the past—especially an opera like Madame Butterfly, where Asian characters are frequently portrayed by white performers. (Seattle Opera’s production will not attempt to change a given singer’s race through wig or makeup). As seen by The Metropolitan Opera’s 2015 decision to drop the use of blackface in its Otello and other events, the opera world is just beginning to reevaluate its tradition of color-blind casting and starting to have more conversations about how the art form is changing. Considering General Director Aidan Lang’s vision of serving the diverse people of Washington State, Seattle Opera will not shy away from critical voices in the community,

Seattle Opera presents Madame Butterfly Aug. 5-19, 2017. Unlike how the opera has traditionally been presented, the company will not attempt to change a given singer's race with wigs or makeup. Neil Mackenzie photo

“We have work to do in order to become a company that truly stands for racial equity,” Lang said. “Ultimately, we aim to preserve the awe-inspiring universal qualities of our art, while changing Eurocentric inequities. We know from our community-engagement works such as As One, a transgender story, and An American Dream, depicting the incarceration of Japanese Americans, that opera has the power to serve diverse groups. It’s our responsibility to help make it happen.”

In an attempt to listen and learn surrounding Butterfly (August 5-19), Seattle Opera has organized three community-engagement events, including performances of the opera An American Dream, and two panels featuring exclusively Asian American artists and leaders. In addition, during the performance run of Butterfly, large-scale lobby exhibits will provide greater context for what the audience member is about to see. The viewer will learn about Puccini’s intentional criticism of American imperialism, and rampant anti-Japanese attitudes in the early 20th century when he was composing. Such attitudes would continue to have devastating consequences for people of Japanese ancestry, including the mass incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans, which is where An American Dream picks up.

Seattle Opera will pair  Madame Butterfly with its community-engagement opera An American Dream to provide a more complete picture on how cultural imperialism and anti-Japanese attitudes in the West would impact people of Japanese ancestry well into the 20th century and beyond. Philip Newton photo

In a heartbreaking tale of cultural imperialism, Butterfly depicts a trusting Japanese maiden who is abandoned by a reckless American naval officer. Four internationally acclaimed artists make company debuts in this exciting production. They include: Armenian soprano Lianna Haroutounian and Japanese soprano Yasko Sato (also her U.S. debut) as Cio-Cio-San, with Russian tenor Alexey Dolgov and American tenor Dominick Chenes as Pinkerton. (Alexia Voulgaridou, who was originally scheduled to sing Cio-Cio-San, is now expecting her first child and has withdrawn). Returning artists for Butterfly include Weston Hurt (Sharpless), Renée Rapier (Suzuki), Sarah Mattox (Kate Pinkerton), Rodell Rosel (Goro), Ryan Bede (Prince Yamadori), and Daniel Sumegi (The Bonze). Carlo Montanaro returns to conduct, and director Kate Cherry makes her Seattle Opera debut with a production hailed as “sublime, visually fantastic, must-see” (stuff.co.nz).

An American Dream composed by Jack Perla with libretto by Jessica Murphy Moo returns in fall 2017 as part of the company’s community-engagement work to introduce opera to new audiences. Presenting partners include Densho and Seattle’s Japanese American Citizens League chapter, who, through post-show discussions, will help take attendees deeper into the civil-rights implications of this story and its themes of wartime hysteria, racism, and xenophobia. Inspired by true stories from Puget Sound’s history, Dream depicts two intersecting narratives during World War II: a Japanese American family facing incarceration, and a German Jewish immigrant preoccupied by those she left behind. Details regarding the performance will be announced on seattleopera.org in the coming weeks.

Seattle JACL and Seattle Opera are partnering together for An American Dream, a community-engagement opera depicting the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans. 

The other activities surrounding Butterfly include two panels. The first, “Asian Arts Leaders Respond to Madame Butterfly” on July 9 at SIFF Cinema Uptown 2, is moderated by Frank Abe, co-founder of Seattle’s Asian American Journalists Association. Angel Alviar-Langley, a queer Filipina American street-styles dancer, will perform and also serve on the panel, which will include Kathy Hsieh, a celebrated actor and arts leader; LeiLani Nishime, an Associate Professor of Communication whose research focuses on Asian American representation among other topics; Matthew Ozawa, opera stage director; The Shanghai Pearl, internationally-beloved burlesque artist; Roger Tang, the “Godfather of Asian American theatre” (A. Magazine); and Karl Reyes, a frequent performer in Seattle Opera mainstage productions, as well as a longtime member of the Seattle Opera Chorus. 

Later in the month, “Reversing the Madame Butterfly Effect: Asian American Women Reinvent Themselves Onstage” will take place on July 28 at Cornish Playhouse Studio Theatre. The evening will include three short plays by Asian American women playwrights as well as conversations on reclaiming Asian female representation in art and entertainment. The event is curated by Kathy Hsieh and presented in partnership with SIS Productions.

Celebrated Seattle actor and arts leader Kathy Hsieh will serve as both a panelist on July 9 and is curating "Asian American Women Reinvent Themselves Onstage" on July 28. 

Of course, these plans are simply a start toward greater equity and inclusion, and creating a more welcoming environment for everyone to be able to experience opera. 

“I can’t speak for all people of Japanese or API ancestry—some of whom love opera and love Madame Butterfly,” said Sarah Baker, President of Seattle’s Japanese American Citizens League. “But I can say that Butterfly is frequently a hurtful and problematic work to many in our community. Seattle JACL hopes you will let your voice be heard at Seattle Opera’s panel discussions. Let’s help create a better future for the arts. Ultimately, Asian Americans and all people of color need to see our own narratives onstage, brought to life by performers, storytellers, and directors who include people from our own communities.”

To Boo the Bad Guy, or Not?

Stefano Secco as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly.
Photo by Elise Bakketun

Madama Butterfly—and our 2011/12 season!—wraps up this weekend, and as we gear up for Saturday’s and Sunday’s performances, let's talk about Pinkerton. His character, and how he treats the besotted Butterfly, has provoked lots of strong reactions these last two weeks:

Yeah, Pinkerton, I hope you're never free of this torment either!#OperaAtKey #MadamaButterfly

— Cecile Laurence (@cecilelf) May 6, 2012

So Pinkerton is probably shacking up with another 15 year old and that's why he isn't back #madamabutterfly #operaatkey

— elise o (@elise81) May 6, 2012

Pinkerton, still a bastard. #madamabutterfly @seattleopera@ Marion Oliver McCaw Hall instagr.am/p/KjkslxGyON/

— Paola Thomas (@mirrormirrorxx) May 13, 2012

Pinkerton: "If I sing a beautiful Puccini melody, I'll suddenly be a sympathetic character, right?" @SeattleOpera #operaatkey

— John Coons (@JohnMCoons) May 6, 2012

We’re thankful to have two wonderful singers in this role: Stefano Secco, who sings tomorrow opposite Patricia Racette, and Nathaniel Peake, who will sing with Ausrine Stundyte on Sunday. Both sing the role beautifully and both manage to our break our hearts—and, of course, Cio-Cio-San’s—in the process. Perhaps we react so strongly because Pinkerton is anything but a cartoonish villain. He’s a character many of us have encountered in real life. Maybe we’ve been hurt by a Pinkerton ourselves, or maybe we’ve been a Pinkerton at some point. When we asked Peake and Secco for their thoughts on this character, they had conflicting answers:

I don’t hate Pinkerton. I think a lot of people can identify with him because he’s just a young guy who is basically ignorant to the world.

So I don’t think he’s a bad guy. If he’s a jerk all the time, why would [Cio-Cio-San] have fallen so deeply in love with him?

—Nathaniel Peake

Pinkerton, I’m sorry to say, is a very, very bad guy! I think he will reflect a great deal on what has happened. He is ashamed: "It’s my fault, it’s my fault." So maybe some things will be better with his new wife and son. But the tragedy is extremely strong. At the end of the first act, the audience loves Pinkerton. At the end [of the opera], they HATE Pinkerton. "Boo!"

—Stefano Secco

Secco’s not wrong. Many of our audience members have become so emotionally invested in Madama Butterfly that they've enjoyed booing Pinkerton at the final curtain call, an occurrence that Secco believes is quite an honor.

When I hear booing, I know I've accomplished my goal!

—Stefano Secco

But how do you in the audience indicate you're booing the character, but not the performer? Secco told us the booing of Pinkerton is something that he’s really only encountered in the United States. And even among our audience, opinions on this subject vary widely. For the record, we at Seattle Opera love that people have been getting so wrapped up in the drama and tragedy of Madama Butterfly—but we can understand why not everyone feels the same way. Over on our Facebook page, patrons aired diverse points of view:

Not long after, a follower on Twitter had this to say:

@SeattleOpera I thought it was fab he was booed at the end :)BTW, it was a fabulous, fabulous production. Kudos to all.

— Paola Thomas (@mirrormirrorxx) May 15, 2012

The great thing about art is that there's rarely ever a "right" or "wrong" answer. We'd love to hear from more of you, whether you've attended this particular Butterfly or not. Is it acceptable for audiences to boo the character during a singer's curtain call, even if (or because!) their performance was great? Is it a sign of appreciation for a job well done, or is it disrespectful? Why do we boo Pinkerton, but not Don Giovanni or the Duke of Mantua? Which operatic villain do you find the most realistic? Is booing the bad guy at an opera a strictly American phenomenon?

Feel free to comment here on the blog, over on Facebook, or send us a tweet!

And if you have any confusion about what you're hearing during the curtain call, just be glad you're not this guy:

Meet Our Singers: MICHAEL DEVLIN, the Bonze

Michael Devlin, our Bonze in Madama Butterfly, has been singing this role for almost fifty years. This veteran of many of the world's great opera house stages has an unusual history with our company: he first sang in Seattle in 1974, as Mefistofele in Boito's opera, and has returned for unusual fare once a decade: Horace Tabor in The Ballad of Baby Doe in 1984, Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande in 1993, and, four months ago, Leone in Attila. I talked to him, during a dress rehearsal a couple of weeks ago, about his history with Butterfly, about playing religious fanatics in brief, cameo roles, and about how opera has evolved over these fifty years.

You’re finally appearing in a normal, standard-rep opera in Seattle! Do you prefer working on a regular, popular opera like this one or the more offbeat repertory you've sung here before?
I prefer anything I feel good in, that I can learn—not too modern!—and enjoy singing. These two parts [Leone in Attila and the Bonze in Madama Butterfly] in Seattle this year have been very nicely exposed: I let out a big sound for about a minute, and, at my age, that’s about it!

How far back do you go with Madama Butterfly?
Butterfly was one of the very first roles I did when I was in the chorus in New Orleans back in the early ‘60s. I was a student at LSU and the conductor said, “Do you think you could do the Bonze, and Yamadori, too?” and I said, “Sure!” So I did ‘em, both, it must have been 48 or 49 years ago. That was the only time I sang Yamadori. I've done the Bonze since then in a few regional companies, and at New York City Opera, at the Met.

Who are some of the best Butterflys you remember?
There were a couple at the Met. Catherine Malfitano I thought was really wonderful.

Did you ever do it with Scotto? She would have been in the ‘70s.
No, I wasn’t at the Met when she was there. I think she retired just about the time I came in.

John Relyea (Attila), with Michael Devlin (Leone) in the background, in this season's Attila.
Photo by Elise Bakketun

When last we saw you, as Leone in Attila, you were a briefly-appearing religious figure of terrifying power. Same goes for this role. What else do these two characters have in common?
Well, he’s another religious nut, another extremist—-a fundamentalist—-who would just as soon beat Cio-Cio-San to death for leaving their religion. I think Leone probably felt the same way. So, yeah, they have a lot in common.

Have you ever known anyone like that?
No, thank goodness. I read about them in the newspaper. There are a few over in the Middle East right now. Some of the ayatollahs are religious extremists, who would literally kill an apostate for leaving their religion.

Even a member of his own family.
I think so. In our production, you see me moving toward her—-I think he would beat her, if Pinkerton didn't protect her. He would beat her.

There’s a neat moment Stage Director Peter Kazaras has added to the story here, between you and Butterfly’s mother.
Yes, she wants to comfort her daughter, and I won’t let her. We have excommunicated her, and you can’t go near her now. To you, she is dead, to all of us. Fundamentalist, and extreme. Sad, but true. The great tragedy of the opera is that, by doing what she has done, she has cut herself off from everything. That’s one of the reasons she turns down Yamadori. She’s waiting for Pinkerton, of course, but also she can’t go back.

Michael Devlin as the Bonze in Seattle Opera's current production of Madama Butterfly.
Photo by Elise Bakketun

She’s not Japanese any more, or so she thinks. Speaking of Yamadori, many of the roles in this opera are very small: the Bonze, the other guys at the wedding, Yamadori.
Great for people starting out, or finishing, their careers!

Beyond getting a paycheck, what’s the satisfaction of performing these ‘cameo’ parts?
With an opera like this I get to sit and listen to the beautiful music and not worry about whether I’m going to run out of voice by the end, or get tired! For most of my career I used to do all the leads, but for the last few years I’ve been doing all the supporting parts, and that’s fine. I’m about ready to wind it all up. The satisfaction in doing anything is you do it well, you’re still singing well, you don’t embarrass yourself.

How do you know if you’re doing a good job, with these very small parts? You barely have enough time to build a relationship with the audience.
Well, first you have to trust the director and conductor. Peter is a very good director; through experience with different directors, you learn which moves work, which make an impact. And you notice with the conductor here [Julian Kovatchev], with my one big excommunication line he takes the orchestra way down, and I sing straight out.

You’ve been singing opera for quite some time—this opera, almost 50 years. Can you generalize about how audiences have changed over the years?
Wow. I don't know...you’ve got a lot of older people, you’ve got a lot of younger people, you’ve got new people coming in all the time, who are just discovering the power of it, and the older people who, thank God, are still supporting it and dragging the new people to see it, and opening their eyes up. I think the opera audience, God bless ‘em, they’ve always been there, and I hope they always are.

And the new technology that makes possible our simulcast, on May 5...
Yes! How exciting. I’ve been to a few of the Met HD simulcasts. My one complaint is that, of course, it doesn’t sound the same as it does in the house. But the pluses are the camera-work, the close-ups, the backstage things; they take you behind the scenes and show you changing the scenery, working the props, adjusting the lighting and all that. I think that’s wonderful! Most of the audience never sees anything like that. The few people—family and friends—whom I’ve often taken on backstage tours, at the Met or in Chicago, they were amazed. It pulled them into it, gave them a greater appreciation of what went into putting on an opera. And that’s a wonderful thing to know when you’re sitting and enjoying a performance.

Madama Butterfly Broadcast Night Q&A with Speight Jenkins

After every performance, General Director Speight Jenkins hosts a free Q&A session in the lecture hall at McCaw Hall. Listen to this live recording as Jenkins candidly answers the audience's questions after the Saturday, May 5, performance of Madama Butterfly. This Q&A session was also broadcast live on KING FM and can be found on their 24-hour Seattle Opera Channel.

Meet our Singers: AUSRINE STUNDYTE, Cio-Cio-San

Lithuanian soprano Ausrine Stundyte makes her Seattle Opera debut tonight as Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly, opposite tenor Nathaniel Peake as Pinkerton. Today we get to know Ausrine, who tells us why learning this role converted her into a Butterfly believer. She'll sing Cio-Cio-San two more times after tonight's performance, on our Sunday matinees on May 13 and 20. For ticket and production info, visit our website. You can also hear a clip of Ausrine singing here on her bio.

 
Welcome to Seattle, Ausrine! First off, can you tell us how to pronounce your name?
oh-shuh-REE-neh STOON-dee-teh. Very simple.

This is your first time visiting Seattle. What do you think of it so far?
I’m so excited to be here, and I’m surprised by how nice and helpful people are. And also by how open they are. That’s something that was a very big surprise to me. You can speak with people in the street and after five minutes you know everything about them, and they know everything about you! I’ve never experienced that before. It’s kind of wonderful.

Ausrine Stundyte (Cio-Cio-San) and Sarah Larsen (Suzuki) in Madama Butterfly.
Photo by Elise Bakketun

Have you spent much time in the U.S. in the past?
Not really. I came once before, with a Lithuanian folk music group, when I was still studying singing back home in Lithuania. We went for one month to cities in the United States, but we had concerts every day for Lithuanians in America, so I didn’t have time to see anything. We just went from concert to concert. So this is the first time that I really live here and get a feel for the country and the people.

What’s the opera scene like in Lithuania?
We are a very small country—all of Lithuania is less than 3 million people—but we do have three opera houses, which for 3 million people is good. But we very many singers so in that sense, it’s not that many. I’ve sung there only one time, actually. I left to finish my studies in Germany and then I stayed in Germany. Now I live in Cologne.

Ausrine Stundyte (Cio-Cio-San) in Madama Butterfly.
Photo by Elise Bakketun

Let’s talk about Madama Butterfly. How many times have you sung the role of Cio-Cio-San?
I think maybe five times.

What do you think about this opera, and this role?
I like it very much, but when I first had to learn it, I thought, “Oh. That.” To be honest, when I was in the audience for Butterfly, I found it to be one of Puccini’s most boring operas. So I was not very excited about learning it. Of course, I was happy for the opportunity, but not crazy about it. And then I started to study Madama Butterfly and I was surprised by how wonderfully it’s written, how true it is, and how nothing is cold or kitsch or empty. Everything is so psychological, and the character of Butterfly is nothing like I thought. I always thought she was naïve, like a child, but she actually has such great development. I love that, singing this role, you begin on stage as one person and finish at the end as someone completely different. I think it’s difficult to find another part in opera that is so rich in the changes and colors on stage.

Ausrine Stundyte (Cio-Cio-San) and Brett Polegato (Consul Sharpless) in Madama Butterfly.
Photo by Elise Bakketun

Do you have a favorite moment in Butterfly?
I love the letter scene when Sharpless comes to Butterfly. There’s no aria, there’s no big line, but it’s so touching and true. And also the moment in the first love duet with Pinkerton where she’s so fragile. It’s as if, in this moment, she’s saying, “Please don’t hurt me…”

But, of course, he does hurt her—and she gives up her life. Some people might interpret this reaction as—
—weak. Well, I’m not an expert on the Japanese mentality, but I think that death there has a different meaning than it does in Western culture. I think honor is much more important. And at the end of the opera, Butterfly had nothing left: no hope, no child, nothing. So she could have found a way to survive somehow, but she experienced something so wonderful—because I’m sure she was extremely happy when Pinkerton was living with her—that everything yet to come would have been so much worse. She chose not to have that. I don’t know if that’s weak or not. There is an instinct for life that some people have very strongly; they want to live like crazy, even though they don’t know exactly why. And some others just don’t have that instinct. So I suppose she just made a choice.

Ausrine Stundyte (Cio-Cio-San) in Madama Butterfly.
Photo by Elise Bakketun

Do you sing a lot of Puccini?
I do. He’s the primary Italian composer I sing.

What’s your favorite Puccini role to perform?
I love Butterfly, but I also love Manon Lescaut, who is a completely different woman but very interesting and full of life and fire.

Which role, from any composer, would you love to sing in the future?
Oh, so many. I have so many dreams. I would very much love to one day sing Salome. And Isolde, which is again a completely different world—but why not, someday? From Puccini, I think I’ve sung everything I really wanted to sing. I’m very happy. I’ve already done many dream parts.

What’s next for you, after you wrap up Madama Butterfly here in Seattle?
I’m going back to Germany and am very excited to sing Kundry in Parsifal.

Meet our Singers: NATHANIEL PEAKE, Pinkerton

Today we get to know tenor Nathaniel Peake, who makes his Seattle Opera debut tomorrow night as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly. He'll also sing the role on the Sunday matinees on May 13 and 20, opposite Lithuanian soprano Ausrine Stundyte (who, like all our Butterflys and Pinkertons in this production, is also making her company debut. You can hear clips of several of our Madama Butterfly artists on our cast page). We recently sat down with Nathaniel and asked him how he got his start in opera, what he thinks about Pinkerton, and about his recent performance singing the national anthem at Safeco Field.

You’re new to Seattle Opera. Welcome! Can you tell us about your background and how you got your start in opera?
I played French horn through junior high and high school and wanted to pursue that in college but when I auditioned for undergrad, I didn’t get a scholarship. So I studied voice instead and I was going to be a teacher. And I don’t know if I should say this, but I’m going to anyway: my undergrad professors told me I should pursue something else and not do music, not do singing.

Really? Why did they say that?
I don’t know! There was a lot of drama. I took a year off to repair and figure out what I wanted to do with my life, and then I thought, “I’m going to try performing and see how far I can go.” When I auditioned for graduate school, I got three full rides at three different schools—so I’m just glad I didn’t give up when those first doors shut. And now I tell my students and my friends that the best way to get back at someone is through your success. Sometimes you can be wrong about people.

Nathaniel Peake (Pinkerton) and Ausrine Stundyte (Cio-Cio-San) in Seattle Opera's current production of Madama Butterfly.
Photo by Elise Bakketun

So where has your career taken you between grad school and now?
I did my graduate program at Michigan State and got a lot of experience, and since then I’ve been in several young artists programs. The past couple season—2010/11 and 2009/10—I was at Houston Grand Opera, and before that in 2008/09 I was at Syracuse Opera. And in the summers of 2008 and 2009 I was part of the Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera, which is actually where I met Peter Kazaras, our stage director for Madama Butterfly. He was directing Albert Herring and I sang in a master class of his. Also, in 2010, I was one of the five final winners of the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Auditions.

So how did you come to be involved in this production of Madama Butterfly?
When I started at Houston Grand Opera in their young artists program, I sang Nemorino in their Elixir of Love (which was probably not the best fit for me vocally). In my second year, they were doing some performances for invited schools and I was asked to sing Pinkerton. At first, I was kind of afraid of it. It’s Puccini! And so big. But it turned out to be the first role I’ve ever learned that I feel I can sing even after rolling out of bed at 3 a.m. I probably did seven or eight performances of it last season as part of HGO, and then I auditioned for Seattle Opera General Director Speight Jenkins in New York last season.

So let’s talk about Pinkerton. He tends to elicit strong opinions from audiences, but what do you think about him?
Well, I don’t hate Pinkerton. I think a lot of people can identify with him because he’s just a young guy who is basically ignorant to the world. He’s in this new land and he’s been offered by Goro an opportunity to “marry” this girl, and he doesn’t consider it a real marriage. He thinks it’s just for fun, and he doesn’t think he’ll ever be back there again. He has no intention of ruining Butterfly’s life. He just thinks it’s kind of a game, and that when he leaves she’ll get married off to someone else, too, and life will go on. So I don’t think he’s a bad guy. And there has to be something she likes about him. If he’s a jerk all the time, why would she have fallen so deeply in love with him?

Nathaniel Peake (Pinkerton) in Seattle Opera's current production of Madama Butterfly.
Photo by Elise Bakketun

And, ultimately, he regrets his actions.
Oh yeah, totally. In Act 3, he is completely devastated. He didn’t think about consequences of his actions. I also think he’s haunted because when he first signed up for this little marriage thing, he didn’t realize that he would like her. But when her Uncle Bonze comes in and disowns Butterfly, and all her family walks out on her, Pinkerton realizes how strong she is and he sees something in her that is incredible.

Pinkerton doesn’t appear in all of Act 2, so what will you do backstage in that down time?
I’ll probably just talk to the makeup people! I could also probably read a whole book during Act 2 because it’s pretty long, and I think it’s where the meat of the show is. When Act 2 begins, it’s been three years, Butterfly and Suzuki are running out of money, but Butterfly is still hoping Pinkerton will come back. She says, “When the robins nest, then he’ll come back.” And she’s like, “It’s so weird that the robins only nest every three or four years. Wow, when are they going to nest?” So as a performer, I try not to watch any of this because I don’t want it to affect how I come in for Act 3. Because I totally identify with Butterfly more than I do Pinkerton.

It isn’t too difficult to identify with her. I’d guess most people have known a Pinkerton or two in their own lives.
Yes, absolutely. Or some people are a Pinkerton and perhaps think, “I don’t see what the big deal is.” [Laughs] But for me, it’s just heart-wrenching, the struggles she goes through.

Ausrine Stundyte (Cio-Cio-San) and Nathaniel Peake (Pinkerton) in Seattle Opera's current production of Madama Butterfly.
Photo by Elise Bakketun

Do you also have to do any vocal exercises to make sure you’re ready to go for Act 3?
Yeah, I do. It’s not a whole lot of singing in Act 3, but it’s big singing. Also, whenever you’re doing a role that’s emotionally intense, you have to be very careful technically. Sometimes composers will write you something very high, as if you’re screaming, but obviously you can’t actually scream. It’s this weird and funny balance of stepping back from the emotion so that you can sing the line, while still conveying the emotion dramatically. I used to go all out and leave a piece of myself on the stage, and then I realized I could only do that for so long.

Let’s talk about the Butterflys in this production. We hear you’re a big fan of Patricia Racette, who sings the role on opening night, opposite Stefano Secco.
Yeah, she’s an amazing actress. The first video I ever saw of Butterfly, which was while I was learning it in Houston, was of an HGO production starring her. She’s sung Butterfly all over the place and now watching her do it here…. I just want to sit her down and interview her and ask so many questions. Like, how does she keep herself so dramatically invested in the role after singing it so many times?

And, of course, there’s your Butterfly, Ausrine Stundyte.
Ausrine is amazing. She connects with you immediately on stage. There are some singers who sing over your shoulder or above your head, but she’s always looking into your eyes. It’s comforting to be in a scene and get to be completely in that scene, actually becoming these people in this relationship. You don’t always get that. But Ausrine is such an open performer, and it’s so easy to be Pinkerton with her.

Nathaniel Peake singing the national anthem at Safeco Field on April 14, just before the Mariners took on the Oakland A's.

On a completely different topic, you recently sang the national anthem at a Mariners game! What was that experience like?
It was so fun! It was my first time singing an anthem at a ballgame, and I was really nervous because I hadn’t been feeling well and it was also my first public performance as part of Seattle Opera. Plus, I was in front of all these baseball fans who are used to this tradition of the pre-game anthem, and you don’t want to screw up their tradition. If you miss one word, even in the birds in the place will know.

But you did a good job with it! Several people in the crowd gave you kudos as you walked off the field.
I know, that felt so good. I also appreciated that the Mariners had the words up on the big screen. Once I found that out, I knew I’d be good to go. But yeah, it was awesome and I definitely want to do something like that again.

BUTTERFLY'S CHILD Author Comes To Rehearsal

Today's post is by Angela Davis-Gardner, author of the new novel, Butterfly's Child. This book, which takes up the story where the opera leaves off, is for sale in Amusements, the gift shop at McCaw Hall, as well as in bookstores nationwide.

"At the end of a performance of Madama Butterfly a few years ago, a friend turned to me as the curtain fell and said, “I wonder what happened to Butterfly’s child?”

That question was the seed of my fourth novel, Butterfly’s Child, which was published last year and has just been reissued in paperback by Dial Press/Random House.

During a book tour to Seattle two weeks ago, I was thrilled to be invited to a run-through rehearsal of Madama Butterfly, which is being performed this month by the Seattle Opera (May 5-20). Brilliantly directed by Peter Kazaras, and starring acclaimed soprano Patricia Racette as Cio-Cio-San (who gives a masterful, culturally correct rendering of a 19th century geisha), this is the most glorious production of the opera that I have experienced. And as a novelist who has been working with this story for the past several years, being enveloped in the production in such an intimate way was one of the most exhilarating and oddest moments of my life.

I sat behind Kazaras, close to the singers, from whom music poured with such gorgeous intensity that it lodged in my body. During the second act, as I was several times moved to tears, I realized that I had written my novel not only because of curiosity about Butterfly’s child, but also because of the profound, timeless expressions of longing and denial that are at the heart of this opera.

Angela Davis-Gardner and Peter Kazaras

In one of the layers of my metafictional novel, Butterfly’s Child, I investigated the origins of the Butterfly story and the history of the opera. As I was writing, I was surprised by an unexpected development in which my character Frank Pinkerton encounters himself as a character when he attends a performance of Madama Butterfly (in Chicago, in 1907).

At the Seattle rehearsal, I was immersed in the opera, as Pinkerton had been, in a way that suspended all sense of time and place. When I woke from this dream, I had the weird sensation that I myself had been present -- as a character watching a production of the opera that had inspired me -- in a part of my novel that I hadn’t written.

And what happened to Butterfly’s child? Here she was – rather, here they were, the two charming girls who play the role this May in Seattle, Gabriella Mercado and Elizabeth Janes -- walking up to me after the performance, smiling, holding out a gift of a blue origami crane."

- Angela Davis-Gardner

Angela Davis-Gardner with Gabriella Mercado and Elizabeth Janes

The interview between Angela Davis-Gardner and Peter Kazaras has been published by The SunBreak.