I was at the Los Angeles Opera last night, Dear Readers, to see/hear a new production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly. Robert Wilson (he of Einstein on the Beach fame) directed and also handled the design and lighting design. This production is based on one he did about ten years ago for the Bastille Opera in Paris.
L.A. Opera clearly took what they thought was a safe bet on this show. They added six or seven non-subscription performances to the usual eight performance subscription run, and have been widely advertising it, figuring, I am sure, that Mr. Wilson's imprint on this very popular opera will bring in the crowds.
Mr. Wilson's trademark minimalism was at the heart of this production. The sets were stripped to Zen-like simplicity. Most of the stage floor was devoted to raked pebbles, much as you might find in a Zen garden. There was a small square of bamboo floor that represented a house, and a polished stone curved walkway. In Acts II and III (which were performed without a break) a bamboo sort of boardwalk was added. Painterly lighting effects were projected on a screen that filled the back of the stage.
The direction was to produce an affect as minimal as the sets. The singer/actors, when they moved, did so deliberately, and used stylized postures and gestures. The costumes were stylized, too, and bordered on a sci-fi look for all except Butterfly, whose gowns (white in Act I, black in Acts II and III) suggested the simplest elements of kimono form.
I'm game for novel approaches to standard stage fare, and I have seen how simple stage movement, counterpointed with emotional music, can create a wonderful effect. For this production, I might be willing to forgive how Mr. Wilson ignored specific references in the libretto (i.e., to rooms in the house, its sliding screens, glasses of whiskey and--critically--a sword, all of which were nowhere to be seen, or even Butterfly asking Suzuki to bring her son to her, when he is standing all of five feet away.) What I cannot forgive, however, is how Mr. Wilson's approach simply drained this Madama Butterfly of its emotional power. Madama Butterfly is based on a Belasco play, for heaven's sake. Instead of heart-wrenching emotional display, what we got last night was icy affectation.
All might have been saved by the musical elements of this show, but, alas, that was not to be. Kent Nagano, who is usually a brilliant conductor, conducted what must be the slowest Butterfly I have ever heard, perhaps to mirror the pace of the movement on the stage. L.A. Opera triple cast the Butterfly and double cast the Pinkerton, Sharpless and Suzuki, in each case with people I've never heard of. Amongst the cast last night, the strongest singer (and actor, for that matter) was Greg Fedderly in the role of........Goro. The principals were adequate, at best.
My advice to the L.A. Opera: next time, consider shifting some of that production and advertising budget into the budget for vocal talent. Put capable singer/actors (big-named or not) into your productions and trust me, the people will come.
