Photo: Courtesy of Shanghai Grand Theatre

Madama Butterfly, now a joint Chinese-UK production by the Shanghai Opera House, the Royal Opera House of the UK, as well as the Shanghai Grand Theatre, will be staged at the Shanghai Grand Theatre from Friday to Sunday to kick off the theater's 2024-25 performing season. The performance is also part of the commemorations of the 100th anniversary of the death of Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924).

Conducted by Xu Zhong, a renowned conductor and pianist, the opera has gathered a number of well-known musicians from home and aboard. 

"The cast of this China-UK coproduction of Madama Butterfly not only includes domestic and for-eign singers, but also young singers from the Shanghai Opera House. I believe they will achieve greater improvement and development through the rehearsal of international plays. We look forward to their outstanding performance," said Zhao Lei, Party chief of the Shanghai Opera House.

"As China boasts a prosperous opera market and positive prospects, more and more fine interna-tional opera resources are coming to China, which helps us build cultural confidence and engage in equal dialogue in exchanges and cooperation," said Xu Zhong, also director of the Shanghai Opera House.

The upcoming version of Madam Butterfly will present a simple style as the singers emphasize the music and singing to express emotions, which boosts the story's narrative development.  

In order to respect culture and portray history more accurately, the Royal Opera House spent a whole year consulting with cast members and scholars and making proper adjustments to the stage design, movements and costumes. Through these adjustments, they hope to "strive to express the true spirit of the opera and make the opera full of emotion."