Beloved Opera Gets Powerful Re-Telling In Grand Rapids This May

Puccini's masterpiece gets an innovative new re-imagining from Opera Grand Rapids, opening for a strictly limited run at the DeVos Performance Hall this May. Re-setting the story in post-war Japan as a woman falls for an American naval officer, Madama Butterfly features one of Puccini's most gorgeous and heart-breaking scores, and remains a revered opera classic.

What Is The Story?

The Second World War has just ended, and in the Japanese city of Nagasaki, young Cio-Cio-San is having her life turned upside down. Having met American navy man B F Pinkerton, she falls head over heels into a whirlwind romance. The two swiftly get married, and she believes that they'll be together forever. But he suddenly disappears back to America, leaving her alone - and pregnant. Years later, he returns to Japan to meet the child, and Cio-Cio-San will be met with an awful truth.