By Nancy Plum
It is hard to believe that Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, one of the world’s most popular and frequently-performed operas, had a disastrous premiere in 1904. Despite lush melodies and a poignant story, the grand opening night was criticized for unoriginality, accompanied by catcalls, moos and cock-a-doodle-doos — apparently vehicles of opinion in early 20th-century Milan. Princeton Festival faced no such reaction with its presentation last weekend of Puccini’s masterpiece at the Performance Pavilion at Morven Museum & Garden. Conducted by Princeton Symphony Orchestra Music Director Rossen Milanov, Friday night’s performance (repeated Sunday afternoon) thoroughly entertained a nearly full house on a very hot and humid evening. Directed by Eve Summer and sung in Italian with English supertitles, the Festival’s production brought together a wide range of singers, from those on the roster at the Metropolitan Opera to up-and-comers making their mark in the operatic arena.
The Festival maneuvered a last-minute curve ball on Friday when soprano Toni Marie Palmertree was unable to sing the lead role of Cio-Cio San. Still capable of handling the staging, Palmertree acted the part while soprano Brenna Markey, originally cast as Kate Pinkerton, sang Butterfly’s lines from the orchestra pit behind the singers. Opera has always been about suspending reality, and Friday night’s audience seemed to accept the arrangement with ease.
Familiar with Cio-Cio San from previous experience, Markey demonstrated an expressive and vocally smooth interpretation throughout. Her voice showed nimbleness and a bit of sparkle, reaching into both lower and upper registers effortlessly. Onstage, Palmertree portrayed Butterfly with lighthearted coyness and as a woman who might have an agenda of her own. Palmertree’s physical strength was especially apparent in the scenes with son Dolore, picking up the child and conveying anguish simultaneously.
The role of Lt. Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton has been viewed over the years as a scoundrel — abandoning Butterfly, remarrying in the U.S. and returning with his new wife to reclaim his son. Tenor Victor Starsky vocally commanded the stage from the outset, projecting well to the back of the Pavilion with a voice that was continually a pleasure to hear. His scenes with Cio-Cio San were physically dramatic, no doubt made additionally challenging by having two points of focus — one visually onstage in front of him and another in sound coming from behind him.
Pinkerton was often paired onstage with the marriage broker Goro and the U.S. Consul Sharpless. As Goro, tenor Nicholas Nestorak was persuasive in arranging the wedding between Pinkerton and Butterfly, and as a busybody used the Pavilion stage efficiently, skulking around to spy on whatever was going on. Baritone Joel Balzun was vocally strong as Sharpless, successfully communicating his frustrations with Both Pinkerton and Butterfly over a situation which was clearly not going to end well. One character who definitely showed spunk was Butterfly’s servant Suzuki, skillfully sung by Kayla Nanto. Suzuki carries much of the torment which Butterfly denies, and Nanto solidly offered a realistic contrast to the every-hopeful Cio-Cio San.
Blair Mielnik’s geometric set design with sliding doors centered the stage for all three acts, with wings on both sides providing additional space and levels. Stage director Summer also utilized the complete range of the Pavilion, with characters entering from the back of the hall. One unique aspect of the opera’s conclusion was Kate Pinkerton (sung by Aubry Ballarò) forcefully taking Butterfly’s son Dolore (played by Troy Jones) and leaving, with the last sounds heard not the grief of Pinkerton but the wail of Dolore being removed from the only home he has known.
Paul Kilsdonk’s lighting design bathed the stage in a variety of stunning colors depending on the scene, and costume designer Neil Fortin elegantly dressed the women characters in pastels. American patriotism was woven into the costumes of Pinkerton and Sharpless in particular, whose outfits reflected red, white and blue. Milanov led an orchestral ensemble of 30 playing behind the staged action, and despite the positioning, timing between singers and instrumentalists was consistently exact. A small but precise women’s chorus was well prepared by Tomás Garcia.
Madama Butterfly is a timeless story of love and betrayal, infused with the composer’s fascination with America. This past weekend, Princeton Festival showed audiences why Puccini’s tour de force was able to overcome its calamitous start to become a cornerstone of the operatic world.
Princeton Festival continues through Sunday, June 21, with performances by Time for Three and the Bacon Brothers, as well as lectures, visual art exhibits, and a closing tribute to America at 250. Ticket information about all Princeton Festival events can be found at princetonsymphony.org.