Photo from Baden-Baden production, directed by Davide Livermore
Sunday, April 27, 2025
Berliner Philharmonie, Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße, Berlin
Following staged performances at the Baden-Baden Easter Festival, the Berliner Philharmoniker and Kirill Petrenko returned home for two concert renditions of Madama Butterfly (this was the second). The only action was the entrances and exits of the formally dressed singers, now free of any production distractions yet benefitting from the staging in terms of story and character interaction. As the innocent, honourable and trusting teenage geisha Cio-Cio San (known as Butterfly) Eleonora Buratto was radiant of voice, avoiding screeching, whereas Jonathan Tetelman – as naval Lieutenant Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton, something of a cad with his attitude to Butterfly, now the mother of his son – was vocally honeyed without strain. The rest of the cast was noteworthy, especially Teresa Iervolino as the loyal Suzuki. Which leaves the equally important orchestra, masterfully utilised by Puccini, carrying the drama. The Philharmoniker was impeccable, as involved as the singers, Petrenko’s ear for detail and concern for narrative combining judiciously, alive to the score’s range, whether the ethereal ‘Humming’ Chorus, which here breezed in as if from the Elysian Fields, or the tragic ending, Butterfly dead by her own hand, Petrenko reserving the orchestra’s fullest power for this moment, uncompromising, unnerving.
“For her it is true love, for him just an affair: Puccini turned the story of the geisha Cio-Cio-San and an American naval lieutenant into one of the most poignant operas ever – creating music brimming with sophistication and atmosphere. Following the staging of the opera in Baden-Baden, Kirill Petrenko conducts a concert performance of Madama Butterfly in Berlin. The title role is sung by Eleonora Buratto, who has already enjoyed success as Cio-Cio-San at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The young star tenor Jonathan Tetelman joins her as Pinkerton.“
Eleonora Buratto soprano (Cio-Cio-San)
Teresa Iervolino mezzo-soprano (Suzuki)
Jonathan Tetelman tenor (Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton)
Aksel Daveyan baritone (Prince Yamadori)
Tassis Christoyannis baritone (Sharpless)
Didier Pieri tenor (Goro)
Giorgi Chelidze bass (The Bonze)
Lilia Istratii mezzo-soprano (Kate Pinkerton)
Jasurbek Khaydarov bass (Imperial Commissioner)
Georg Streuber baritone (The Official Registrar)
Rundfunkchor Berlin