Madame Butterfly

Puccini’s 1904 opera Madame Butterfly is one of the most popular and frequently performed operas in the world, with a problematic performance history. The opera is based on a play by David Belasco, adapted from a magazine story by John Luther Long. Neither Long, Belasco, nor Puccini had ever visited Japan. Madame Butterfly has depicted Japanese women as exotic and submissive, with some productions employing exaggerated gestures and stereotypical costumes and featuring non-Asian performers in yellowface makeup.

That history will change on October 7, when the 2023–24 Detroit Opera season opens with Matthew Ozawa’s spectacular new co-production of Madame Butterfly. An all-Japanese and Japanese-American creative team will present the opera through a new lens, bringing to this very Western art form a production that looks in both directions, for an honorable representation of Japanese culture. There will be three performances of Madame Butterfly at the Detroit Opera House: October 7, 13, and 15.

Today, it is important to make sure that the people who are telling this story can deal with the representation in a way that truly honors the cultures being depicted. Detroit Opera is one of the voices leading a national conversation on this topic, as opera companies advocate for greater representation and broader equity for Asians in our industry.