MADAMA BUTTERFLY

Giacomo Puccini
MADAMA BUTTERFLY
Arena di Verona, 2004

Soloists: Fiorenza Cedolins, Marcello Giordani, Juan Pons
Orchestra, Chorus: Orchestra e Coro dell’ Arena di Verona
Conductor: Daniel Oren
Director: Franco Zeffirelli

This DVD combines a number of operatic highlights: Puccini’s Madama Butterfly - the composer’s self-proclaimed favourite work and certainly one of the most beloved operas in the repertoire - is brought to life at the worldfamous Arena di Verona. This opulent production, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, is sung by a cast of excellent singer-actors and conducted by long-established Arena di Verona conductor Daniel Oren with all the splendour that a Puccini opera demands. The opera is staged in front of the imposing Roman backdrop of the “Arena di Verona” and directed by respected film and opera director Franco Zeffirelli. Fiorenza Cedolins is a sought after Butterfly singer and her Pinkerton is played by the renowned tenor Marcello Giordani. The performance is lead by Daniel Oren who has worked with the opera festival for more than two decades. The sum of all this is a gloriously sung musical experience.

"Das Verdienst der Kameraführung von Georg Blume ist es, dass durch die Ausblendung vieler Massenszenen die Handlung um die unglückliche Geisha zutiefst berühren kann, angefangen von dem brillanten Auftritt mit sicherer Höhe und generöser Phrasierung, über die Beherrschung eines erstklassig akzenturierenden Parlando bis hin zu einem schön schwebenden "Un bel di vedremo", bei dem der Sopran am Ende aufblüht." Ingrid Wanja, Orpheus , März/April 2011