Opera: Madama Butterfly

Nezvanov’s (2006) animated interpretation of Madama Butterfly is very beautiful and quite enjoyable, but it lacks some of the details an explanation within Madama Butterfly that I believe is present in the actual opera.  The Metropolitan Opera (n.d.) provides a very detailed synopsis of the story, which actually helps understand the depth of what is occurring in Nezvanoy’s (2006) animation.

The animation itself utilizes a lot of clever symbolism, such as Butterfly’s water breaking; which literally, it is a glass with water breaking.  There is also a clever element in which the child keeps the mother grounded and there is a connection between the two.  Later, it is the pulling away of the child and the tugging on the string that ultimately kills Butterfly, as she is unable to live with the situation. 

I assume that the music that is in Nezvanoy’s (2006) adaptation is the actual opera score.  This is an important point, as the music really serves to create the emotion, otherwise, the portion in which Madama is dissembling herself would be pretty creepy as just animation.  Nezvanoy (2006) does a wonderful job of setting the story to the music that is present, which is a key point of it.

Metropolitan Opera, The. (n.d.).  Synopsis: Madama Butterfly.  Retrieved from:

            http://www.metopera.org/Discover/Synopses/Madama-Butterfly/

Nezvanov, M. (2006).  Madama Butterfly.  YouTube Video. Retrieved from:

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E387c5RAhK4&feature=youtu.be&iframe=true&wi dth=80%&height=80%