3 immortal pieces from the opera MADAMA BUTTERFLY by Puccini – with the best interpretations from YouTube (Hits, Best of)

For Puccini, Butterfly was the “most soulful, expressive opera he had written”. None of the heroines of Puccini’s operas can match Butterfly. No wonder Butterfly is one of the most sought-after roles for sopranos in all of opera literature.

Butterfly Arrives – Exoticism in Music

The arrival of the Butterfly is one of the most beautiful scenes Puccini wrote. Cio-cio-san’s entrance is effectively written and at the same time touching. She is happy (“I am the happiest girl in Japan”) and sings a beautiful aria accompanied by the chorus of her friends. The orchestra’s music is stunning; Puccini has three solo strings (one each of viola, violin and cello) sing the endless melody in parallel with Cio-cio-san’s voice. To some, this scene brings to mind Puccini’s Bohème.

We find a beautiful example at the end of this passage, where Puccini ends Cio-cio-san’s aria with an almost heavenly motif. It consists of a pentatonic melody played by harp, flutes and glockenspiel, an instrumentation combination Puccini borrowed from Japanese music.

Listen to this inspired and moving scene with Mirella Freni. Magical how she conjures up the famous high D (3:15).

Ancora and passo e via – Freni

The great love duet of Madama Butterfly

After the wedding ceremony, all the relatives leave the house. Now the two are alone for the first time. Butterfly is dressed up for the wedding night and the two enjoy the moment together in the garden.
An interminably long love duet unwinds, the longest that Puccini wrote. Many musical themes emerge and Puccini allows the orchestra to bloom in the most magnificent colors. In one particularly beautiful passage (“or son contenta”) we hear a lovely violin solo repeated several times, and Butterfly gives herself to Pinkerton with the words “vogliatemi bene, un bene da bambino” (Be kind to me, kind as to a child). At this point, Pinkerton finds the right words with an intense and tender passage, promising her never to let her go, leaving Butterfly in the false belief of an eternal union. The ending is the ecstatic duet of two lovers, as we also get to hear from Puccini only in the greatest moments.
Madama Butterfly was Björling’s last complete recording in his career. The 48-year-old was already seriously ill by this time and had a serious breakdown while recording this duet with Victoria de los Angeles. Amazingly, Björling’s voice was in remarkably good condition and the recording was completed a few weeks later. His recording is a bit slower than the other versions and gives the two singers the space to give a great interpretation. Even his opening “Bimba dagli occhi” is beautiful and seductive and the two singers make music in the most beautiful way possible.

Bimba dagli occhi – de los Angeles / Björling

Butterfly’s great aria “un bel di vedremo”

For three years Butterfly has lived in extreme poverty with her servant Suzuki and her child, without having heard from Pinkerton. She prays to God for the return of Pinkerton, who knows nothing of the child. Pinkerton has promised her to return when the roses bloom. She scares away Suzuki’s doubts, she is sure that one day the ship with Pinkerton will appear.
This aria “Un bel di vedremo” is one of the most famous and beautiful in opera literature for sopranos. The dream of Butterfly inspired Puccini to write a great aria, perhaps his most popular.
The aria begins in pianissimo. Puccini’s instruction states “di lontano” (as if from a distance). A solo violin surrounds the Butterfly’s voice and after a few bars the listener is already enchanted and immersed in the world of Cio-Cio-San. In the first part of the aria, the singer shows the modesty and patience of Butterfly, who is ready to wait for her beloved. With “me ne starò nascosta un po’ per celia” begins from the piano a great crescendo to the ecstatic “e un po’ per non morire”. It is an eruption of emotions held beneath the surface.
With quiet but moving words, she then recounts the dream of Pinkerton hurrying up the hill to her house and his return becoming a reality. Once again Puccini composes an ecstatic climax, ending after a great crescendo with the highest note, a high B in fff.
We hear this scene in 3 versions.
Victoria de los Angeles’ Butterfly is consistently ranked high in critics’ rankings. Her world was not one of dramatic opulence, but of lyrical mood.

Un bel di vedremo – de los Angeles