Review of Madame Butterfly

This stand out filmed opera was released in the US with an added English narrator who talks at length, at first setting the stage for the story,then periodically intruding during the course of the opera to explain what is going on, occasionally speaking over the singing, as an alternative to subtitling all of the lyrics which could have been distracting. While this strategy allows the listener to bask in the gorgeous music, it can be annoying.But it kind of fits the authentically recreated Oriental settings and costumes as the Japanese cinema long had a tradition of off screen commentators, the Benshi. Director Carmine Gallone was a veteran of filmed classical music performance and brought his mastery from years of experience to this crowning achievement.The opera is beautifully sung,orchestrated and recorded.The mise en scene is striking and the Technicolor lensing by Claude Renoir is breathtaking.And best of all, the coproduction allows all the Asian roles to be played by Asian actors (,while the singing is dubbed in by Italians) so the embarrassment of watching white performers doing yellow face is completely avoided.