There are evenings when the drama onstage doesn’t so much begin as unfold from the breath of its singers — when the emotional temperature is set not by the podium or the staging, but by a trio so instinctively aligned that everything else seems merely to follow their gravitational pull. From the first moments of this Madama Butterfly, it was clear that Eleonora Buratto, Riccardo Massi and Shannon Keegan were going to shape the evening’s emotional centre with uncommon intensity and unity of purpose.
Buratto, especially, stepped into the role of Cio-Cio-San with a presence that instantly quieted the room. There was no hesitation, no warming-up period: her first phrases already carried that unmistakable mixture of innocence and resolve that defines the character. Vocally, she was on superb form. The line had glow, the breath seemed endless, and the top notes — even the treacherous ones Puccini hides in deceptively gentle moments — bloomed without strain. “Un bel dì vedremo” was not merely the expected highlight but something richer: a progression of private hopes, shaped with exquisite control of colour and dynamic. Buratto held the hall in the palm of her hand, tracing the character’s emotional arc with heartbreaking clarity right through the final scene, which she delivered with devastating simplicity.
Riccardo Massi’s Pinkerton met her with admirable finesse. He sang the early pages with an easy, ringing brightness, shaping “Dovunque al mondo”with both swagger and musical honesty. But what lingered was not bravado — it was the way he let the character’s charm curdle into remorse, without ever exaggerating the shift. Massi offered Puccini phrasing at its best: natural, unforced, deeply felt. A performance of genuine class.
Completing the central trio, Shannon Keegan gave a Suzuki of warmth and quiet authority. Her voice blends beautifully with Buratto’s, and together they formed a partnership that felt lived-in rather than staged. Keegan’s soft-spoken loyalty, her attentive presence in every scene, and the emotional precision she brought to the final moments made her one of the essential forces of the evening — not a secondary role, but the still point around which Butterfly’s fragile world turned.
The unexpected revelation came from Ya-Chung Huang, whose Goro became one of the night’s brightest impressions. Instead of the usual caricature, he offered elegance, superb diction, and a golden, immediately recognisable timbre. Every entrance drew the ear; every phrase was placed with care. It was a performance that clearly suggests larger repertoire ahead — one hopes the house takes note.
Among the other roles, Lucio Gallo’s Sharpless was thoughtful and dignified, even if the voice now shows some signs of wear. His scenes retained dramatic weight, especially the uncomfortable confrontation in Act II. Christian Rieger brought refinement and ease to Yamadori; Ivo Stanchevthundered credibly as the Bonzo; Bruno Khouri added colour as Yakusidé; Armand Rabot handled his duties cleanly as the Commissioner. Lucy Altus, as Kate Pinkerton, shaped her brief moment with tact and an appealing, warm tone.
The production surrounding them — Wolf Busse’s staging, Otto Stich’s sets, Silvia Strahammer’s costumes — opted for restraint rather than concept. It offered clarity, functional storytelling, and enough atmosphere to support the singers without stealing focus. The chorus under Franz Obermair was tidy and responsive, particularly in the bustling Act I ensemble.
Only at the end does one reflect on the pit, where Eun Sun Kim led the orchestra with care rather than volatility. Her reading did not pursue the high-voltage emotional sweep that Puccini can inspire, but her priorities were unmistakably singer-centred. The tempos were steady, the textures clean, the balance meticulously maintained — a musical environment in which every voice could soar safely and freely. If the orchestral fire burned a little low, it was replaced by a sense of trust, and that trust clearly nourished the finest performances of the night. Kim’s approach may not have dominated the evening, but it certainly enabled it.
What remains is the impression of a Butterfly carried by vocal truth: Buratto incandescent, Massi refined, Keegan luminous, and a striking discovery in Ya‑Chung Huang. An evening shaped not by spectacle, but by the living, breathing humanity that Puccini demands — and that this cast delivered without compromise.
***
Cast
Cio-Cio-San: Eleonora Buratto
Suzuki: Shannon Keegan
B. F. Pinkerton: Riccardo Massi
Kate Pinkerton: Lucy Altus
Sharpless: Lucio Gallo
Goro (NakadĹŤ): Ya-Chung Huang
Prince Yamadori: Christian Rieger
Bonzo: Ivo Stanchev
Imperial Commissioner: Armand Rabot
Musikalische Leitung: Eun Sun Kim
Inszenierung: Wolf Busse
BĂĽhne: Otto Stich
KostĂĽme: Silvia Strahammer
Chor: Franz Obermair
