Number one most-performed opera in the US?  Madama Butterfly.  If this trend keeps up, and the folks at New York City Opera's current production are any indication, Madama Butterfly will continue to bring in new opera aficionados for years to come.

 

On the "New to Opera?" section of their website, City Opera recommends Madama Butterfly for first-timers at the opera house.  I decided to make finding opera newbies a goal that evening, to see how they reacted to Puccini's masterpiece, and to opera in general.

 

Madama Butterfly has a simple, tragic plot.  Butterfly is a geisha who falls in love with Lieutenant Pinkerton, an American sailor stationed in Japan.  He marries Butterfly, but then abandons her.  She waits for three years, only to find on Pinkerton's return that he has taken an American bride and forgotten about his faithful Butterfly.  When Butterfly hears about his second marriage, she is heartbroken and commits suicide moments before a remorse-stricken Pinkerton returns to see her.

 

New York City Opera's production was restrained in terms of sets and visuals.  Rather than detracting from the experience, I liked this minimization of distractions; I could just concentrate on the story and the music.  The simple blue-stage setting was the same for all three acts; they just pulled in some silk screens for the scenes that took place inside Butterfly's house.  Yet, while there was not a lot in the way of props and scenery, the costumes were sufficient to give the production a definite Japanese/period flavor. 

 

"Visually, it's beautiful," said Theo, a patron who was attending his first opera.  He had familiarized himself with the story before heading to the opera, and said that had enabled him to just concentrate on the stage (rather than having to look back and forth, watching the supertitles). 

 

Josh Thomas, a university student, was particularly struck by the breathtaking lighting effects.  "It's amazing how they change the lighting from night to day, and how they add the moon, or the red light [when Butterfly's threatening uncle appears]."

 

As I walked around during the two intermissions, I was struck by the variety of people attending the opera.  There were retirees, theater students, tourists, kids (even whole families!), or young professionals looking for something different to do on a Saturday night.

 

Martina, an au pair from Germany, was fascinated by her first experience at New York City Opera: "It is my first time at a big opera house and it is interesting."  She had decided to come see Madama Butterfly after noticing an ad for it on a college billboard. 

 

Shy, ten-year-old Dasha was enjoying herself and thought that "the music was pretty." 

 

A talkative, engaging young lady named Amy shared her thoughts while she browsed flyers for other operas.  "It's a sad story, but I really like it anyway.  I think it's going to become one of my favorite operas.  I definitely want to see more."

 

I happened to go to Madama Butterfly the same night the honors program from Ithaca College was visiting New York City Opera.  It was a school trip that included a visit to the Metropolitan Museum and sightseeing in New York, but the centerpiece of the outing was Madama Butterfly.  Most of the Ithaca students were completely new to opera and practically all were enthusiastic about the performance.  "I think it's great," said Matthew, one of the honors students, "and it's definitely fulfilling everything I've heard about [opera]."  His friend Julianne added that maybe "the vibrato took some getting used to, but the singers are really talented."

 

Garret, another Ithaca student, summed up the evening perfectly for me when he said, "It's beautiful.  I never really thought much about going to the opera but I'm really interested in it now.  I kind of want to see another one."