My first visit to the Opera House for 2011 was for Madama Butterfly – one of the most popular Operas to have been staged in the early 1900s – and has one of the most recognised operatic tunes to be featured in contemporary culture – usually in the form of a television commercial advertising an expensive European car or perhaps an elegant brand of mineral water. This is the first time I have seen a production of Butterfly, thanks to my fairy godfather and colleague in arms Mr James Waites. Until now, my only exposure to this work was the Sunday afternoon sounds in my parents house by the sea, Madama Butterfly selected by my father. Listening as the notes climb and lilt and fiercely float into the air, watching my father surrender to the sheer exquisite beauty of the music.

At the Opera House that evening – a vast array of people. A young boy in hat and suit is being whispered to by a genteel father, the usual pearls and twead set shuffle their way around the foyer, James wearing his newly acquired brown pinstripe suit – me in my usual black uniform for the chronically undecided about fashion. For some this may be their third or fourth time they have encountered a live performance of this opera… and for some perhaps the second time seeing this remounted/revamped production directed by Moffatt Oxenbould.

There is nothing so magical as the start of an Opera – the mood set. The quiet hush as light melts into darkness, and even diamond earrings of the patrons are silenced -the sound of the orchestra – the moment before the strings are engaged. There, poised – the musicians bows hover lightly above the strings, like a moment before a kiss. We all wait. And it is this moment which I find the most relieving.

The first moment. Watching white paper lanterns bob and swing… as we are taken from Sydney and lovingly re-located in Japan.

The precursor to this has been watching the responses to this production:

I nod in the direction of Diana Simmonds: http://www.stagenoise.com/reviewsdisplay.php?id=500

Sydney Morning Herald: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/opera/madama-butterfly-20110109-19jr4.html

And James Waites:
http://jameswaites.ilatech.org/?p=6437

Responses to the social and political climate of the themes in the opera in a contemporary context – what it means for a 15 year old to be married to an older American man (some may recall similar ideas in Miss Saigon or even in Rogers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific)… for some it is a reflection on the idea of what Opera is or what an opera singer looks like.

For me I reflect on what it means to hope, to wait for love, for something, for change.

The story of Penelope has always been more interesting and more powerful to me than that of Ulysses. It’s really easy to have adventures, to encounter new things and to be challenged by the newness of it all. But, what sort of personal strength or stamina does it take to maintain what you know, what you have and where you are? Is it strength of memory or imagination? Or is it faith or blind hope that keeps people alive whilst they are waiting?

And it feels devastating because it feel personal – I believe that there was/is not one person in that theatre who has not suffered at the hands of an unrequited love – or suffered in the act of being patient. I see my friends endure relationships without marriage or commitment confirmations – as my generation attempts to stay forever young and forever not-divorced by staying single, unmarried or childless… And I watch us all waiting, as John Mayer would sing “For the world to change.” And that is where the tragedy of Madama Butterfly lies. She could have waited for a marriage to a predictable suitor… sheltered by a nearby husband – but instead, the power of faith or imagination keeps her looking at the horizon, waiting for a sign that he will return as promised, to her.

I join the ranks of reviewers, praising the eloquent and heartfelt performance by Patricia Racette – a truly transforming experience to bear witness to the power and beauty of her voice – without the pomp and pretentiousness I have witnessed in some Operatic performances. In the presence of such a voice, I had no choice but to surrender.

I urge you to if not now, then sometime, somehow, see Butterfly, any Butterfly. But if you are lucky, see this production. Allow yourself to wait in the darkness like so many lovers do, for those who never reciprocate their passion… and allow yourself to reciprocate. Allow yourself to tumble into terrifying incurable love, with that incredible music.