San Francisco Classical Voice

After a rather dry-throated opening, Sunday's San Francisco Opera Madama Butterfly went on to an uncommonly convincing dramatic presentation. Donald Runnicles, the company's music director, led as loving an account as one might hope to hear, highlighted by a triumph for Maltese soprano Miriam Gauci in the title role.

The generally fine cast included tenor Zoran Todorovich as Pinkerton, Zheng Cao as Suzuki, David Okerlund the polished Sharpless and Dennis Petersen as an admirable Goro. Designer Michael Yeargan's unit set left something to be desired, and director Ron Daniels, much.

Gauci was cheered to the echo following the last act and indeed, Butterfly's last act, her suicide. She played it most convincingly. Her voice, once it warmed up a bit, was all sweetness and charm, elegant during her miseries and flawlessly Romantic in her arias. She produced all sorts of wonderful little touches during minor events. When, for example, she showed Pinkerton her little box of things, she brought touching little gestures of voice and hand to the action. And as an added plus, short-statured Gauci looked every bit the part of a 15-year-old Japanese girl.

Todorovick has sung at many of Europe's major houses, so what sounded like nerves in the opening scene was surprising. His top notes all were strained, a situation unaided by his tendency to force volume levels and belt out the notes. Once he had warmed up, his boyish tenor gained in warmth of timbre as well as general security of pitch. The love duet which closes Act I, for instance, was lovely, as was his rather brief appearance in Act II. On the other hand, his acting ability seemed limited, and occasionally hammy.

Cao's Suzuki was excellent throughout, and she received her ovation for it. Suzuki is, after all, the second most prominent person on stage. Cao's contribution, so well acted and well sung, formed a major strength. Much the same was true of Okerlund's Sharpless, presented in handsome voice from first note to last, his acting right up there with Gauci's performance.

One also saw strong characterizations and very able vocalism for all the minor roles: Kyu Won Ha as Butterfly's suitor Prince Yamadori, a particularly strong Bonze from Raymond Averto, and Imperial Commissioner Jere Torkelsen. Among the more thankless roles, William Pickersgill sang the Registrar and Greta Feeney, Pinkerton's American wife Kate. Among the mimed roles, Colby Roberts was Butterfly's cook, and Frederick Winthrop a gardener.

Yet most surprising of all was Kalina Simeonova as Cio-Cio san's three-year-old child. Where on earth do they dig up a small child like that who could be so flawless, well behaved and able to remember all her acting mime so naturally? I've seen over 200 performances of Puccini's Butterfly without coming across any child so flawless in detail. Good grief, Simeonova could make a career of the role on the world's major stages. The kid is beyond believing.

The orchestra and brief choral passages, particularly the humming chorus, were terrific, as they are prone to be. No problems there.

Butterfly is Puccini's most intimate opera, more so than even Il tabarro. To decorate the stage as one vast room robs it of that basic character. Further, all that space looked a bit ridiculous considering Japan's fabled lack of it. I mean, the major reception hall of the Shogun's Kyoto Place isn't that large. And this is supposed to represent a love nest for two people?

Then too, the backdrop was plain scrim lit from behind, and too often too brightly. When the stars came out after sunset, the backdrop lit up like excessive Christmas lawn decorations. And when the silhouette of Pinkerton's warship creeps into view in the background, it's too large and way too close, too dominating. Then it proceeded to light up like a cruise ship docked at Cancún. One can't tell if the idea behind these gimmicks lay in seeming minimalist or merely being cheap.

Revising certain major problems in this "Butterfly" would require little effort. Begin by trimming half the night sky to reasonable levels, and then sink that fool ship!

(Heuwell Tircuit, composer, performer and writer, was chief writer for Gramophone Japan and for 21 years a music reviewer for the SF Chronicle, previously for the Chicago American and Asahi Evening News.)

©2002 Heuwell Tircuit, all rights reserved