Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly is one of the best-loved operas of all time. Julia Burbach’s revelatory new production, inspired by Japanese folkloric ghost stories, premieres at Grimeborn 2015.
Sung in the original Italian (with English surtitles) but radically reframed, this haunting psychological rendering of Puccini’s masterpiece is alive with the mysteries of memory and mortality.
Julia Burbach is Staff Director at the Royal Opera House, where she recently revived Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. In 2014 she directed two productions of Purcell’s The Fairy Queen: one for Bury Court Opera; the other as a site-specific production in Salon Wilde Renate nightclub, Berlin. Madama Butterfly is her debut production at Grimeborn.
Cast
Cio-Cio-San – Natasha Jouhl
B. F. Pinkerton – Thomas Atkins
Sharpless – Gareth Brynmore John
Suzuki – Ayaka Tanimoto
Goro – Christopher Diffey
Prince Yamadori – Nick Dwyer
The Bonze – Freddie Tong
The Imperial Commissioner – Freddie Long
Kate Pinkerton – Grace Carter
Chorus
Kasia Andrzejewska
Olivia Martin
Roxanna Korda
Isky Roberts
Rebecca Moulton
Elaine Borg
Matthew Haas
Rhys Cook
David Padua
Surtitles in English by Mark Burns
World premiere
★★★★★ “The cast flawlessly pull off a hugely difficult task, the production a shining example of how opera can be adapted in an informal and accessible setting” – Broadway Baby
★★★★ “I was drawn into the story, told at such painful proximity, far more than ever before” – Bachtrack
★★★★ “I’ll certainly never look at the story in quite the same way again.” – LondonTheatre1
★★★★ “Visually and musically stunning” – PlaysToSee
“Captivating” – Broadway World
Tuesday – Saturday evenings (not Thursday 27 August) at 7:30pm
£15 / £12 concessions
Tickets are £10 or less with Arcola Passport
Performed in Italian (with English surtitles)
Running time to be confirmed
In Studio 1, seating is allocated.
