Puccini’s masterpiece, “Madam Butterfly,” returns to the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet (NTOB) after more than a decade, as a new production from the Festival”Puccini di Torre di Lago,” in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute.

NTOB announced that the opera will feature a unique directorial concept by Manu Lalli, focusing on the nature of a woman who perishes due to lack of care, attention, and love.

Written by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, the libretto addresses significant social issues that unveil the morality of society.

The beautiful 15-year-old geisha remains faithful to the American officer Pinkerton and hopes for his return. Although three years have passed since his departure, Butterfly, now a mother to a son, the fruit of her marriage to Pinkerton, refuses to start a new life and forget her true love. Pinkerton, now married to an American woman, returns to Nagasaki to take his three-year-old son. Disappointed and desperate, Butterfly hands over the child to him and takes her own life.

“Madam Butterfly” will be staged at the Opera House on May 26, 27, 28, 30, and June 1. Meanwhile, rehearsals are underway. The National Theatre of Opera and Ballet soloists, along with the Italian soprano Anna Pirozzi, who will portray Butterfly, are working with the renowned director Manu Lalli and co-director Ada Gurra.

/k.s/