Sorrow, Cio-Cio-San’s son in Madama Butterfly (sometimes called Trouble), will be played by Simon Jenks in our upcoming production, and he had his costume fitting Tuesday night. The pictures will give you an idea of Jun Kaneko’s whimsical costumes, and they’re really cute to boot!
Simon, in Sorrow’s Act II costume
Simon with tenor Arnold Rawls (Lt. Pinkerton, Sorrow’s father)
Getting fitted for the Act III costume
Madama Butterfly Preview from Madison Opera on Vimeo.
The artists are here! Rehearsals for Madama Butterfly got underway yesterday, and I swung by day 2 this morning. The principal singers were reading through the score with conductor Leonardo Vordoni and pianist Yasuko Oura. Though many of our guest artists know each other and have worked together before, this is the first time they really get a sense of the conductor’s interpretation of the score and how they will need to work to blend their voices. Here are some photos:
L-R: Jason Ferrante (Goro), Grant Youngblood (Sharpless), Arnold Rawls (Pinkerton), Maria Kanyova (Cio-Cio-San), and Heather Johnson (Suzuki)
General Director Allan Naplan, Stage Manager Jill Krynicki, and Maestro Leonardo Vordoni all wrapped up in the score
Arnold belting it out
Maria’s first notes
r lobby during performances of Madama Butterfly, and it was a ton of fun to see all of the kids in costume stopping to make art with Madison Opera. A big thank you is due to the Monroe Street Fine Arts Center, our co-sponsor for the event, and to the Overture Center staff as well for being so accommodating and getting out those few stray scribbles left on the wall (sorry about that!). For now, I’ll let the pictures do the talking: