“Madame Butterfly”
Frederic Mitterrand made a movie of Puccini’s opera “Madame
Butterfly” that had its American theatrical release in 1996,
and this is the Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment DVD version of that film. The opera
is sung in Italian, and English subtitles are available. Although
the movie was shot in Tunisia, the story is set in Nagasaki, Japan,
in the early 20th century. A Japanese girl (played and sung by soprano
Ying Huang) marries an American naval officer (played and sung by
tenor Richard Troxell), but he abandons her, leading to heartbreak.
I like the film’s visual beauty, and I think the singing and
acting are good enough to capture much of the feeling of Puccini’s
dolorous arias. I wish the movie was more imaginative, but overall
I think the film is very entertaining, and I highly recommend it.
If you like opera even a little, I think this is a DVD you will want
to own. |
