MANILA, Philippines - After her quickie Japanese marriage to a US naval lieutenant, the enamored 15-year-old geisha, Cio-cio San, or Madame Butterfly, joyfully settles into her new role as Madame Pinkerton. In total abnegation of her previous life, she renounces the religion of her forefathers and becomes a Christian, a sacrifice her husband never even remotely thought to ask of her. When her uncle, a Buddhist High Priest, learns of this, he curses her.
Butterfly’s new home, a bungalow situated on the side of a steep hill, affords a panoramic view of the bay, the harbor and the town of Nagasaki. From her vantage point, Butterfly is able to watch all the ships coming into the port and to await the return of her husband’s ship, the SS Abraham Lincoln. He has promised to be back “when the robins nest again.”
Three years later, she timidly asks the American consul, Sharpless, “When do the robins return in America to do their nesting, not so often as in Japan? As they had already done so three times here (meaning Japan).” “Could it be,” she asks, “that over there in America, they do not nest so often?”
He does return, not to her arms, not to fulfill her dreams but to end them. Her flimsy link to him had to be broken with the ultimate sacrifice of her own life committing seppuku for a better life for her son.
The plot of this opera, heavily sentimental and the stuff telenovelas are made of and set to the sublime music of Puccini, cannot but move the hearts of the viewers, even bring tears to their eyes, as it has done so to the millions of opera cognocentis through the years. It has even become the inspiration of the more recent Broadway Musical, Miss Saigon, where Lea Salonga and a host of other Filipina singers have achieved international acclaim.
It is interesting also to note the existence of a museum in Nagasaki called the Glover Mansion, dedicated to the memory of Cio-cio San’s character. In the garden stands a towering full size statue of Japanese singer Tamaki Miura as Cio-cio San clad in a flowing kimono, her right arm holding her infant son, her left arm outstretched, pointing toward the harbor. Near the mansion stands a bust of Puccini. This attraction is visited by over two million tourists a year, one of them avid music lover and impresario Eddie Yap, who visited the site with his wife Dellie and gives us this account.
June 22 and 23 are the limited dates to watch this opera at the CCP Main Theater. The production of Music Artest, Inc., led by its president, Jay Glorioso, and chairperson, Josie Tan, in cooperation with the Cultural Center of the Philippines, brings together an international cast for the lead roles – Japanese soprano Mako Nishimoto as Madame Butterfly and Mexican tenor Dante Alcala as Pinkerton and the best of our local classical singers — Camille Lopez, Andrew Fernando, Lemuel de la Cruz, John Glenn Gaerlan, Nonoy Baang, Jun Jaranilla, Fame Flores, members of Viva Voce, graduates of the UP College of Music, UST Conservatory and St. Scholastica College.
Revered Singaporean opera conductor Lim Yau will conduct the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. Maestro Francisco Feliciano is the musical director of multi-awarded Dr. Anton Juan, innovative stage director, promises a visual treat for the audience. And for the non-Italian-speaking Filipino audience, there will be the convenience of English subtitles to better understand and appreciate the opera.
For tickets, call CCP Box Office at 832-3704, Music Artes, Inc., 895-8098 and 908-5088 and TicketWorld at some National Bookstore outlets.