'Madama Butterfly' opens this weekend

"Madama Butterfly" is one of the best known operas today and is performed regularly in opera houses around the world. This classic, which was adapted by Italian maestro Giacomo Puccini from the play of the same name, comes to Bloomington this week as part of the Summer Music Festival. The performances will take place on July 28, 29, Aug. 3 and 4. The orchestra will be conducted by Imre Palló and directed by Mark Clark.\nThe story involves an American naval officer, Lieutenant Pinkerton, who is on duty in Japan. Despite the protests of the American Consul Sharpless, he marries Cio-Cio San, a geisha known as Madam Butterfly. Her relatives are shocked and abandon her when she exchanges her religion for Pinkerton's. After he is called away on duty his wife faithfully awaits him with their first child. But she finds herself in a nightmare of a situation when Pinkerton returns to Japan three years later with his new wife. \nThis timeless tale of tragic love has been told and re-told countless times over the years. The IU School of Music, which is known for its concerts and operas, will bring this Puccini classic to the stage not only with conducting and directing expertise but also with exquisite costumes and set designs. \nOpera is an integration of several different art forms. It is a fusion of theatre, drama and music (just to name a few of the obvious ones).\n"I've seen a lot of performances of this opera where the music is great but there is no shape or form. Here we have put a lot of work into combining the music and drama in an effective manner," said Mark Clark, the stage director. He insists that the whole is greater than the individual elements of opera. \n"The words, dramatic intentions, the conflict, the theatrical elements. When all of these come together in such a way that they enhance each other you have something very powerful," said Clark. \nThe performance will consist of actors from the IU School of Music. The student orchestra will be conducted by renowned Hungarian conductor, Imre Palló, who is a professor of instrumental conducting here. \n"The drama without the music does not have the power to touch you. This is where Puccini's brilliance comes into play," said Palló. \nThe opera will be performed in Italian with supra-titles (equivalent to sub-titles in films). The English translations will be displayed above the stage. Making up these these translations was also a challenge because every word in the opera cannot be translated into English.\n"You have to get to the center of the idea without being too wordy," said Clark. \nThe stage is set for what promises to be a memorable rendition of a work that has withstood the test of time.\n"It is a great tragic love story which is bound to impress everyone in attendance," said Nasrin Farrokh, a graduate student in opera directing.