On November 1, the Latvian National Opera presented Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly featuring a stellar cast: Kristīne Opolais, Dmytro Popov, Zanda Švēde, and Jānis Apeinis. The performance was conducted by Mārtiņš Ozoliņš and dedicated to the centenary of the Latvian Radio.
The Madama Butterfly production at the Latvian National Opera premiered in May 1925 and is considered one of the oldest opera productions still performed in the world today. Remarkably, on November 1 of that same year, the very first live broadcast of Madama Butterfly marked the beginning of Latvian Radio’s history. This year, a century later, the opera will once again be broadcast live on Latvian Radio 3 to celebrate this milestone.
In this special performance, the renowned Latvian soprano Kristīne Opolais returned to the role of Cio-Cio San after a long hiatus. She previously portrayed this role in the 2006 revival of the production, conducted by Andris Nelsons. Throughout her brilliant international career, Puccini’s heroines have held a central place, and her interpretation of Cio-Cio San on the world’s leading opera stages has been acclaimed as one of the pinnacles of her vocal and dramatic artistry.
Sharing the stage with Opolais on November 1 was the world-renowned Ukrainian tenor Dmytro Popov (Pinkerton), the internationally acclaimed Latvian mezzo-soprano and Frankfurt Opera soloist Zanda Švēde (Suzuki), and distinguished Latvian National Opera baritone Jānis Apeinis (Sharpless).
Puccini’s opera tells the poignant story of a young Japanese woman’s tragic love for an American naval officer. The original 1925 production was created by conductor Jānis Mediņš, director Sofija Maslovska, and set and costume designer Eduards Vītols. The most recent revival, presented in the 21st century, was directed by Vladimirs Okuņs with set design by Juris Salmanis and costumes by Kristīne Pasternaka.
Source: opera.lv
