This series introduces, in words and music, the plot and background of major operas. Using the principal themes and arias, taken from the Naxos recording of the complete work, Thomson Smillie is informative yet entertaining, enabling the listener to get more from this remarkable art form. Madama Butterfly runs the gamut of operatic emotions. The title heroine has a fragility wonderfully expressed in her entry music, deep sexual instincts as shown in the love duet, and immense tragic stature in her last hours. The fate of Madama Butterfly - married to an American sailor and then abandoned - engages our emotions, as it obviously did Puccini's to a degree equalled by few other opera heroines. The oriental setting and the exquisite orchestral and choral writings are treasured bonuses.
Also available as compact disc; previously issued as HNH International NAXOS 8.558049.
System details (note)
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
System requirements: MS Windows 98SE, or 2000, or XP; MS Internet Explorer 6.0, Mozilla 1.7.1, FireFox 1PR, Netscape 7.1, or Opera 7.53; and Media Player 9 or 10.
System requirements: Macintosh: Mac OS X 10.2.8 or 10.3.5; MS Internet Explorer 5.2, Mozilla 1.7, Netscape 7.1, Opera 7.53, or Safari 1.0; Media Player 9.0. Or, Mac OS 8.6 / 9.0; MS Internet Explorer 5.1; Windows Media Player 7.1.
Language (note)
Narrated in English; opera excerpts sung in Italian.