Puccini: Madama Butterfly

Starring: Mirella Freni, Plcido Domingo, Christa Ludwig, et al.

PUCCINI:MADAMA BUTTERFLY

• Format: DVD
• Language: English
• UPC: 044007340370
• Release Date: July 2005
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Publisher: Uni Dist Corp (Music)
• Director: Jean-Pierre Ponnelle
• Starring: Mirella Freni, Plcido Domingo, Christa Ludwig, Robert Kerns, Michel Snchal, Giorgio Stendoro, Marius Rintzler, Elke Schary
• Runtime: 2 hours, 7 minutes
• Number of Disks: 1
• Other Video Info: DVD
• Weight: 0.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.5" x 5.4"

Customer Reviews

“He’ll call ‘Butterfly’ from a distance.”

Puccini - Madama Butterfly TV Movie 1975 It is the late 1800's. An American naval captain, Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton (Plácido Domingo), is stationed in J-a-p-a-n. As is a tradition, he has a girl in every port. That is, except J-a-p-a-n. So, he is matched up with a poverty-stricken teen, Cio-Cio-San, known as Butterfly (Mirella Freni). Butterfly dumps her old religion (which infuriates her relatives) and clings to Pinkerton. Naturally, the day will come when Pinkerton will need a proper American wife. So how does Cio-Cio react? (Puccini music at his best). The story is based on John Luther Long's novella about the relationship between an American naval officer and a former geisha. At first, this looks like a 60’s movie with a voiceover. Placido looks a little like an Italian Hercules. But as time goes on, you realize that they did a pretty good job of staging. There are plenty of implications that are not in the songs, so the story is better fleshed out than many of the stage versions. Naturally, this film cannot compete with live performances, but it is definitely worth it for the music, and they are not dressed up in bug suits with antennae. This movie does give the impression that Puccini did not like Americans.