Opera Australia’s 70th anniversary season will open with the welcome return of former OA Artistic Director Moffatt Oxenbould’s beloved production of Puccini’s beautifully tragic Madama Butterfly, one of the most iconic in OA’s repertoire.
A “beautiful and moving experience” (Sydney Morning Herald), Oxenbould’s award-winning production creates a serene, stunning backdrop that immerses the audience into Cio Cio San’s world that quickly transitions from love to heartbreak. Tiny candles glimmer among floating flowers in an onstage moat. Contrasting lighting schemes reflect the journey of the opera and the characters are dressed in sumptuous costumes inspired by traditional Japanese dress.
Newly appointed OA Music Director, internationally celebrated conductor Maestro Andrea Battistoni will lead the OA Orchestra through Puccini’s yearning score before handing over the baton to German Japanese conductor, Erina Yashima – who returns to Australia after conducting La Bohème – and OA’s Chorus Master Paul Fitzsimons for the remainder of the season.
A stellar cast of international and Australian singers will bring their vocal prowess and acting skills to roles that bare every emotion on the stage. Four emerging international stars make their Australian debuts: Guanqun Yu (a role debut) and Vittoria Yeo share the role of Cio Cio San along with Australian Olivia Cranwell who most recently shined as Mimi in OA’s production of La Boheme. Young American tenor Robert Watson, together with La Scala-trained, Italian tenor Oreste Cosimo sing the role of Pinkerton.
Madama Butterfly transports the audience to Nagasaki, Japan, to tell the story of Cio-Cio San, a young woman who falls in love and marries Pinkerton, a US Navy lieutenant. In doing so, she gives up her family and life as she knows it only to be brutally betrayed by Pinkerton, which leads to her ultimate demise.
The emotional turmoil of the opera is evocatively portrayed through the passionate score that ranges from soaring arias like Cio Cio San’s iconic Un bel di (One Fine Day) to moments of exquisite stillness with The Humming Chorus.
Despite a disastrous opening night at La Scala in 1904, the opera was revised by Puccini four times and Madama Butterfly is now one of the most-loved and most-performed operas in the canon. Between the music and the poignant staging of this production, it is an all-consuming performance that will not be quickly forgotten.
Madama Butterfly
Joan Sutherland Theatre – Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney
Season: 31 December 2025 | 3 January – 25 March 2026
Information and Bookings: www.opera.org.au
Image: Opera Australia presents Puccini’s Madama Butterfly (supplied)