The crowds turned up at the box-office on Sunday, including many students, who made up 12% of the weekend’s audience.
After the performance was “A Taste of Puccini” on the Capitol Theater stage, a celebration of our opening weekend, Puccini’s 150th birthday, and our guest of honor Dr. James F. Crow.
Roth Judd, President of the Board of Trustees, welcomes guests to “A Taste of Puccini” (in Japanese and Italian).
Madama Butterfly designer and renowned artist Jun Kaneko speaks to art students at Madison West High School
Koto player Satoko Someya performs in the Overture Center lobby before the opera against a backdrop of butterflies created by local children for the Community Butterfly Drive
Post-opera party and reception; General Director Allan Naplan calls up the cast
Mezzo-soprano Jamie Van Eyck (Kate Pinkerton), mezzo-soprano Heather Johnson (Suzuki), Maestro Leonardo Vordoni, pianist Yasuko Oura, and Maestro Vordoni’s wife, mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, at the post-opera reception
Wow…what a night! Madama Butterfly opened last night at Overture Hall to a capacity crowd that simply loved it. The audience was with Butterfly for every note, every joy, and every heartache, and the spontaneous and prolonged ovation that came with Maria Kanyova’s bow only confirmed this. Jun Kaneko’s designs drew “oohs” and “ahhs” throughout the night and set the stage for truly magical music making.
Don’t just take my word for it. The reviews are in, and here’s what the critics are saying:
“Leslie Swackhamer’s direction creates an image of the East that is no longer exoticized, but instead, a kind of imagined place where moons drip blood and silent, black-clad dancers move in stylized patterns across the stage.“
-Lindsay Christians, The Capital Times
Madison is eagerly awaiting Madison Opera’s opening weekend! Here are two more previews of Madama Butterfly printed today:
Sandy Rucker-Tabachnick, The Isthmus, “Tragedy Looms in Madison Opera’s Madama Butterfly”
Victoria Pietrus, The Badger Herald, “Madama Butterfly to Spread its Wings at Overture”