SYNOPSIS IN A MINUTE

The young Japanese geisha Cio-Cio San marries American naval lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton in a ceremony she takes to heart, but he does not. Three years after abandoning “Butterfly,” Pinkerton returns to Japan with his new wife and demands that Cio-Cio San give up her son to his American father. Realizing that she has lost everything, Cio-Cio San commits suicide. 

 

FULL SYNOPSIS

 

ACT I

A house in Nagasaki
Goro, the marriage broker, and Lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton of the United States Navy are inspecting the house where Pinkerton will live with his Japanese bride-to-be, Cio-Cio San (called “Butterfly” by her friends). Sharpless, the American Consul, arrives and expresses doubt about the wisdom of Pinkerton’s imminent marriage. Pinkerton makes it clear that this will not be a permanent union, for he plans to marry an American woman later on. Butterfly and her relatives enter, together with Japanese marriage officials, and the consul becomes more concerned when he learns that Butterfly is deeply in love with Pinkerton and is taking their marriage seriously. The festivities are interrupted by the arrival of the Bonze, a Japanese High Priest and Butterfly’s cousin. He curses Butterfly for renouncing the faith of her ancestors and becoming a Christian. Pinkerton and Butterfly affirm their love for each other and consummate their union. 


ACT II 


Three years later
Butterfly and her companion Suzuki pray for the return of Pinkerton, who has gone away and not yet returned from the United States. Sharpless enters with news that Pinkerton will soon arrive in Japan, but suggests that Pinkerton might not return to her. Butterfly remains firm in her commitment to Pinkerton, who has fathered her young son, and when the wealthy Prince Yamadori arrives she refuses his offer of marriage. A cannon salute in the harbour announces the arrival of Pinkerton’s ship, and Butterfly and Suzuki decorate the house in anticipation of his return.


ACT III 


The next morning
Suzuki is asleep, as is Butterfly’s son, Sorrow. Butterfly has kept watch through the night. Suzuki wakes and persuades Butterfly to sleep, promising to wake her the moment Pinkerton arrives. Sharpless enters with Pinkerton, who, unable to face Butterfly, leaves before she sees him. Butterfly realizes that Pinkerton has abandoned her forever, forcing her to acknowledge that her life no longer holds any honour. She kills herself, leaving her young son behind.

Giacomo Puccini

Born in Lucca, Italy on December 22, 1858;
died in Brussels, Belgium on November 29, 1924

Born in 1858 into a long line of musicians in the Italian town of Lucca, Giacomo Puccini was trained as an organist. At the age of 18, after hearing a performance of Aida, Puccini resolved to become an opera composer and eight years later he began his studies at the Milan Conservatory. Puccini was surrounded by compositional geniuses in Milan: one of his instructors was Amilcare Ponchielli (composer of the opera La Gioconda, 1876). He and Ponchielli shared accommodations with Pietro Mascagni (composer of the opera Cavalleria Rusticana, 1890). In 1882 Puccini entered his first opera Le villi (The Witches) into a competition run by the publishing firm Sonzogno. It didn’t win but it garnered the attention of the publisher Giulio Ricordi, with whom Puccini was to enjoy a lifelong association.

Puccini wrote almost nothing but operas. A meticulous composer, he worked intensely on his scores, constantly revising his work until he was satisfied. Although his style is firmly rooted in the 19th-century Italian tradition, his later works reveal cosmopolitan musical tastes, including the influence of French impressionist composers.