Madame Butterfly
Madame Butterfly Puccini’s 1904 opera Madame Butterfly is one of the most popular and frequently performed operas in the world, with a problematic performance history. The opera is based on a play by David Belasco, adapted from a magazine story by John Luther Long. Neither Long, Belasco, nor Puccini had ever visited Japan. Madame Butterfly has depicted Japanese women as exotic and submissive, with some productions employing exaggerated gestures and stereotypical costumes and featuring non-Asian performers in yellowface makeup.That history will change on October 7, when the 2023–24 ...