I really liked this production as a whole. The scenery was beautiful, almost exactly how I imagined it, and another obvious plus is the phenomenal score by Puccini, very lyrical yet even dramatic in places. The singing was fantastic, Mirella Freni, who I still consider to be the best Mimi of the 20th century no offense to Renata Tebaldi, flawless vocally as Butterfly with wonderful eyes and an expressive face, if perhaps too old for the part. (she is 6 years older than Domingo). Placido Domingo was excellent as Pinkerton, very handsome in looks with superb acting and in fine vocal form too. Also impressive were Robert Kerns as Sharpless and Christa Ludwig as Suzuki, both very sympathetic portrayals of their characters. The orchestra was also excellent, and it showed having the fantastic conductor Herbert Von Karajan bringing the beautiful score to life. In fact, the only complaint I have was Butterfly's death scene, for some reason I didn't think it was dramatic enough. Other than that, beautiful! 8.5/10 Bethany Cox.
Review of Madama Butterfly
