Lawrence Foster & Coro & Orquestra Gulbenkian: Puccini: Madama Butterfly
Pentatone

Having earlier tackled Puccini's La Fanciulla del West, conductor Lawrence Foster now turns his attention to the composer's ever-popular Madama Butterfly. The handsomely presented Pentatone set, which complements its two CDs with a booklet containing liner notes by Kasper van Kooten and full libretto in Italian and English, benefits from a magnificent collective performance by the Coro and Orquestra Gulbenkian and a stellar cast of vocalists, among them: soprano Melody Moore as Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly); tenor Stefano Secco as Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton, the US Navy lieutenant; mezzo-soprano Elisabeth Kulman as Suzuki, Butterfly's servant; and baritone Lester Lynch as Sharpless, the American consul at Nagasaki. While everything's here that audiences admire about the work, from beloved arias to “Coro a bocca chiusa” (“Humming Chorus”), certain things distinguish Foster's treatment. His amplification of the work's symphonic dimension deserves mention, but even better is is how intimate it feels. Of course there are fortissimo passages and vocal climaxes, yet the rendering of the score exudes the delicacy, nuance, and understatement of a chamber performance.

In his notes, van Kooten provides solid context for the release, with details recounting the disastrous 1904 premiere in Milan and mention made of two of its more salient aspects, the setting of the story in Japan and the intercultural relationship between a Japanese geisha and American lieutenant. After withdrawing the opera from performance after that inaugural presentation, Puccini and librettists Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica made revisions, resulting in a number of iterations leading to the final version in 1906 and the publication of the vocal score a year later. Van Kooten also smartly argues that while Puccini did deliberately incorporate into the score Japanese-sounding melodies, the music sung by Cio-Cio-San could have been delivered by many another Puccini heroine. By stressing that she's a human being with universal feelings, the composer enables her story to resonate with audiences everywhere, one reason why “Un bel dì, vedremo” reverberates so powerfully.

The opera opens with a brisk prelude that could pass for one of Mahler's more urgent scherzos. Animated exchanges between the Nagasaki-posted Pinkerton and the Japanese marriage broker Goro (tenor Alexander Kaimbacher) introduce the action proper as the two inspect a small house and anticipate the arrival of Pinkerton's intended bride Butterfly. In these early moments, Secco establishes himself memorably as Pinkerton, as does the composer for the ravishing melodies he grants the singer. With Butterfly's arrival, the music assumes an even more lyrical tone in expressions of joy affectingly delivered by Moore. The first exchange between Butterfly and Pinkerton reveals Secco and Moore to be strongly complementary, with the vulnerable ache of her tremulous voice partnering beautifully with his assured, robust tenor. That's even more evident in the subsequent “Vieni, amor mio!” scene, where the first intimation of Butterfly's demise is signified by the appearance of the case containing the dagger. Soon enough, the wedding ceremony is conducted with Pinkerton and Butterfly signing the official papers (note that she, unlike him, regards their betrothal as legally binding and permanent), and on their wedding night, ecstatic declarations of love between them (“Vogliatemi bene”) bolster the romantic tone, the exchange culminating in a magnificent climax. Despite having strong feelings for her, the lieutenant subsequently deserts her but not before promising to return to bring her with him to America.

The opera jumps three years ahead, during which time Butterfly has given birth to his child. Suzuki and Butterfly commiserate over their financial situation and reason that if Pinkerton doesn't return soon their plight will seriously worsen. To her servant's claim that foreign husbands never return to their Japanese wives, Butterfly vehemently retorts that he assured her he would, though quietly weeps while doing so. It's at this moment that “Un bel dì, vedremo” appears, with Butterfly protesting that “one fine day” a thread of smoke will appear on the horizon to signify Pinkerton's return and the fulfillment of his promise. In this majestic aria, Moore conveys all the desperate yearning, hope, and anguish Butterfly's experiencing.

In the second act, Goro and Sharpless, in possession of a letter from Pinkerton, meet with her, at which time “Madam Pinkerton,” as she requests she be addressed, shares with them her longing for Pinkerton's return. Encouraged by his promise, her belief is unwavering, yet the contents of the letter make clear that her hopes are misguided. Sharpless's question to her, “Well, what would you do, Madam Butterfly, if he were never to return again?,” plunges her into anguish and leads to her revealing to him the two-year-old Pinkerton fathered and of which he is unaware. She pleads with Sharpless to write him to tell him his son awaits him. In a dramatic turn, the harbour cannon sounds to announce a ship, the Abraham Lincoln, entering the harbour, prompting triumphant jubilation from Butterfly as she anticipates Pinkerton's arrival. Donning her wedding dress, she, the child, and Suzuki begin a long wait that extends into night, their vigil accompanied by an off-stage chorus humming a hushed serenade.

Dawn brings with it the sounds of sailors singing and other sounds from the harbour and thus rising hope from Butterfly. When she carries her child into another room and falls asleep with him, Suzuki opens the door to Pinkerton, Sharpless, and, to her shock, Pinkerton's American wife Kate (soprano Liesbeth Devos). Pinkerton cowardly withdraws but not before having the request relayed to Butterfly regarding his and his wife's wish to raise the child in America. Believing that the infant will have a better life if she consents, she agrees on one condition: that Pinkerton come to fetch him in half an hour. Inside the home, she orders Suzuki to go to the other room where the child is playing and then, after reading the inscription on her father's knife, “Who cannot live with honour must die with honour” and blindfolding her child who has entered the room, kills herself moments before Pinkerton rushes in.

Mention must be made of the changes that occur in the characterizations by Moore and Secco. While a hint of unworldly naivete informs her initial presentation of Butterfly, her voice blossoms with maturity during the love duet at the first act's end, and as the opera moves towards its tragic conclusion Moore movingly conveys Butterfly's desperation, resignation, and despair. Secco too impresses when his initial arrogance changes into something approaching sincerity by the close of the opening act. Rather than overpower or compete with the singers, Foster and his orchestra are careful to support the singers and artfully amplify their emotional expressions.

January 2022