Singing Against Type
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Not long after he purchased his first automobile, and immediately after his chauffeur drove it off an embankment, Giacomo Puccini found himself laid up for four months with a broken leg. After replacing the upright piano at the house at Torre del Lago with a grand so that his cast could fit underneath, he settled in to flesh out the music for “Madama Butterfly.”
The ironic paradigm of the piece is that the audience understands the marriage contract even if the signatories do not. Depending on which biographer you believe, Puccini either painstakingly researched Oriental folk music or copied the melodies from cheap tourist paraphernalia such as music boxes and timepieces. This much is certain: He treated both Americans and Asians as exotics. The pentatonic music is hardly trendy or empty japonnerie, but rather complex and modern tone painting. The ending G-major chord, rather than the expected B minor – described by Julian Budden as “a door slammed in the listener’s face” – puts an exclamation point on the idea that neither culture is easily understandable.
City Opera’s performance of “Madama Butterfly” on Sunday afternoon was conducted by a newcomer, Ari Pelto, who led an extremely well paced realization. The first act was crisp and biting, impressive not just as no-nonsense music making, but also setting the stage for highly romantic slower sections in the midst of the second act and a “vigil theme” to die for. The NYCO orchestra was in top form, their coloration as subtle as the cherry blossoms that fall – perhaps a little too often – in this production.
In the lead role of Cio-Cio-San was a Korean woman, Jee Hyun Lim, who sang against type. We have become accustomed to the darker, huskier-voiced geisha over the years, whereas Ms. Lim is a bit lighter of tone. But she was most believable in another important aspect of the role: It has been much easier for most divas to pretend to be Japanese than to look 15.
After some shrillness in Act I, Ms. Lim settled in for a fine performance, and earned a massive standing ovation at the work’s conclusion. I grew up during the era when the choice of Butterfly was between Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi, so I am probably a bit jaded, but this woman performed admirably throughout. She was romantic in the “Viene la sera,” coltish in “Scuoti quella fronda di ciliego,” fabulous in “Un bel di.” Further, her physical energy allowed her to exhibit that pent-up enthusiasm that ultimately goes nowhere.
Brandon Jovanovich was himself a bit against type. His is a heroic tenor, full and fleshy, while most successful Pinkertons are more lyrical and oriented toward the big high note. But this particular sailor was not to be denied and made a believer of me by the sheer force of his artistry. I am probably the worst judge of this sort of thing, but I did overhear one woman say that this Pinkerton was so handsome that he was “almost worth killing yourself over.”
As for the rest, Jake Gardner was a confident Sharpless, Robert Mack a prat-falling Goro, and Kathryn Friest a competent Suzuki. One holdover from last season, Kyungmook Yum as Yamadori, was commanding and left me wanting more. And William White Krawiec was superb as the child. My only cavil is that he is listed as Sorrow in the program, when his actual name is Trouble.
Perhaps the highlight of this Sunday afternoon occurred during the first intermission. Those of us on the first ring level went out onto the balcony for some air. Underneath us was the craft show on Lincoln Center Plaza where, right on cue, the piped-in music struck up the Intermezzo from “Cavalleria Rusticana.” At the conclusion, everyone on the balcony applauded. Only in New York.
Speaking of which, this Mark Lamos production is embarrassingly heavy-handed and not worthy of his prodigious talents, but probably plays well in a blue state where America is perceived as the perennial bad guy.
“Madama Butterfly” will be performed again September 17, 21, 24 & 29, and October 1 & 8 (Lincoln Center, 212-870-5570).