[Do bear with me for a rather long review!]
Nancy Yuen and Louise Kwong, who shared the demanding title role of Cio-cio San on different nights, were undoubtedly the highlights of the performances. With Cio-cio San being her signature role for over two decades across the world, Yuen impressed the audience as soon as she appeared with the dulcet tones at a high tessitura singing of her joys to be married to Pinkerton. However, as the performance went on, one could not help but notice the huge contrast between the two registers of her voice. Whilst the ringing head tone was particularly projected, the chest tones sounded coarse, which took away from the performance.
On the following night, Kwong gave a powerful rendition of Cio-cio San as an innocent, hopelessly in love, yet stubborn 15-year-old Japanese girl and was applauded the moment she started singing. The faith in Pinkerton Kwong conveyed, the desperation when talking about her son, the outpour of emotions when singing the line “has he forgotten me?”, and the exhilaration when she saw the return of Pinkerton’s ship drew the audience into Cio-cio San’s own emotional world. One could almost feel her heartbreak.
Directed by Pamela Recinella, the staging was perhaps the most disappointing part of the two shows. It must be pointed out that it was very baffling for the audience that the costume of Prince Yomodori resembled a Chinese magua from the Qing Dynasty or the early Republic days. The choice of the child actor was neither blue-eyed nor blonde, as stated in the libretto, which was also rather confusing. The audience was pleasantly surprised when Cio-cio San and the train of ladies, as well as Sharpless, made their entrances from the back. Yet, it looked bizarre and unnatural when the chorus members took out flower petals from their trouser pockets to strew the way for Cio-cio San. It felt that they could at least do with a basket. Their white faces also looked slightly eerie. The female family members of Cio-cio San (As shown in the picture) who had several lines of solo had their straight hair down which did not fit the rest of the cast, especially that of Cio-cio San’s and Suzuki’s which were done up nicely in Japanese style; and this could have been easily solved by YouTube hairstyle tutorials.
Corey Mckern’s Sharpless (Far right) stood out among the cast. As the American Consul, he had been very concerned about Cio-cio San’s fate from the start. His warm tone and sincere acting granted the character a calming and compassionate personality which touched the audience. Adam Diegel’s Pinkerton delivered the difficult passages with much sensitivity. The comfortable high notes and the projected lower ranged in a clear tone were a pleasure to listen to. However, his acting did not quite match up to the level of singing and it felt slightly awkward at points.
Cio-cio San: Nancy Yuen (16 Aug), Louise Kwong (17 Aug)
Pinkerton: Adam Diegel
Sharpless: Corey Mckern
Fujian Symphony Orchestra
Opera Hong Kong Chorus
Warren Mok (Producer)
Tsung Yeh (Conductor)
Pamela Recinella (Director)
As one of Giacomo Puccini’s masterpieces, Madama Butterfly has captured the hearts of many in the past century with the heart-breaking story and moving music; and has become a staple in the operatic repertoire across the world. The recent Opera Hong Kong offering of a semi-staged version was on the whole convincing and well-received, with a full house of audience on both nights.
Nancy Yuen and Louise Kwong, who shared the demanding title role of Cio-cio San on different nights, were undoubtedly the highlights of the performances. With Cio-cio San being her signature role for over two decades across the world, Yuen impressed the audience as soon as she appeared with the dulcet tones at a high tessitura singing of her joys to be married to Pinkerton. However, as the performance went on, one could not help but notice the huge contrast between the two registers of her voice. Whilst the ringing head tone was particularly projected, the chest tones sounded coarse, which took away from the performance.
Yuen’s rich experience of the character undeniably helped bring across the character confidently with crisp and clear diction. Having said that, Yuen is perhaps more used to fully staged versions, and the present semi-staged setting proved to be a slight hindrance to her acting. She collaborated well with Carol Lin, who was Suzuki; and their “Flower Duet” was well-balanced and appropriately joyful.
On the following night, Kwong gave a powerful rendition of Cio-cio San as an innocent, hopelessly in love, yet stubborn 15-year-old Japanese girl and was applauded the moment she started singing. The faith in Pinkerton Kwong conveyed, the desperation when talking about her son, the outpour of emotions when singing the line “has he forgotten me?”, and the exhilaration when she saw the return of Pinkerton’s ship drew the audience into Cio-cio San’s own emotional world. One could almost feel her heartbreak.
She also impressively made the pianissimo top B and C sound as if they were effortless to sing. The unified tone across her vocal range when singing the famed “Un Bel Di” and the intensity she invested in it made it very touching.
However, on the whole, Kwong’s diction could be clearer which would help communicate with the audience. At one point, she also gave off an impression of a mistake in blocking when asking Pinkerton whether people in the West pin up butterflies in her singing. In any case, it was overall an excellent first performance as Cio-cio San for Kwong.
Generally speaking, the Fujian Symphony Orchestra and the conductor Tusng Yeh did a fantastic job not only in accompanying the singers but also in providing drive and support to the emotions of the storyline. For example, the opening entries were tight and clear, which gives the opera the urgency needed. The “humming chorus” in the orchestra when Sharpless read Cio-cio San Pinkerton’s letter was very delicately played. Throughout the performances, the orchestra set the scenes well with the underlying uneasiness and tension that has been building up for the audience before the anagnorisis of Cio-cio San that Pinkerton never intended to move back to Nagasaki for good.
On the other hand, there were occasional balance problems, which was exacerbated by the very projected voice of Pinkerton’s. His voice made other singers seemed relatively quiet at points, in particular the trio shared among Pinkerton, Sharpless and Suzuki towards the end of the opera. The conductor turned around rather frequently, which occasionally helped to rescued the singers and orchestra from being out of sync. However, the high frequency of turning back and forth was distracting and unnecessary from the audience’s point of view.
Although the chorus played a relatively small part in the opera, their voices were well-blended and the difficult “humming chorus” which requires singers to hum on a high B-flat was well-executed. Credits to the Chorus Director Alex Tam.
Directed by Pamela Recinella, the staging was perhaps the most disappointing part of the two shows. It must be pointed out that it was very baffling for the audience that the costume of Prince Yomodori resembled a Chinese magua from the Qing Dynasty or the early Republic days. The choice of the child actor was neither blue-eyed nor blonde, as stated in the libretto, which was also rather confusing. The audience was pleasantly surprised when Cio-cio San and the train of ladies, as well as Sharpless, made their entrances from the back. Yet, it looked bizarre and unnatural when the chorus members took out flower petals from their trouser pockets to strew the way for Cio-cio San. It felt that they could at least do with a basket. Their white faces also looked slightly eerie. The female family members of Cio-cio San (As shown in the picture) who had several lines of solo had their straight hair down which did not fit the rest of the cast, especially that of Cio-cio San’s and Suzuki’s which were done up nicely in Japanese style; and this could have been easily solved by YouTube hairstyle tutorials.
Nevertheless, the effective use of simple lighting on a very limited stage for the cast helped to bring the story across. The various light changes conveyed the time of the setting (e.g. morning after Cio-cio San’s long overnight wait for Pinkerton) or the emotions (red lights for the Bonze’s fury). The change in furniture from tatami to an iron-wrought bed, and Japanese style to Western style coffee tables and chairs was also a clear symbol for Cio-cio San’s changes to “an American home”.
Corey Mckern’s Sharpless (Far right) stood out among the cast. As the American Consul, he had been very concerned about Cio-cio San’s fate from the start. His warm tone and sincere acting granted the character a calming and compassionate personality which touched the audience. Adam Diegel’s Pinkerton delivered the difficult passages with much sensitivity. The comfortable high notes and the projected lower ranged in a clear tone were a pleasure to listen to. However, his acting did not quite match up to the level of singing and it felt slightly awkward at points.
To a large extent, the performance ran smoothly, but not without several hiccoughs. On the second night, when Goro introduced Suzuki, the cook and butler to Pinkerton, none of the three were on stage. The orchestra and singers on stage came to a short pause before Suzuki appeared on stage to continue with the opera. There were also camera noises of the official photographer throughout the two performances, and was especially audible at quiet parts, such as the introduction to the “humming chorus”. This could be resolved by having pictures taken at the dress rehearsal and could avoid distracting the audience from appreciating the show.
To sum up, the two performances were of high standard in terms of music with the singers and players, but there is perhaps room for improvement for staging, even when in a semi-staged setting, as well as other organisational aspects. We look forward to Opera Hong Kong’s upcoming Otello by Verdi for more delights and surprises for the audience.
Photo credits: Opera Hong Kong Facebook Page
