Madama Butterfly

Madama Butterfly (Madame Butterfly) is an opera in three acts (originally two acts) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. The opera was based in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther Long—which was turned into a play by David Belasco—and also on the novel Madame Chrysanthème (1887) by Pierre Loti. The two-act version of the opera premiered on February 17, 1904, at La Scala in Milan. It was very poorly received despite the presence of such notable singers as soprano Rosina Storchio, tenor Giovanni Zenatello and baritone Giuseppe De Luca in the lead roles. On May 28 of that year, a revised version was performed in Brescia. The revision split the disproportionately long second act in two and included some other minor changes. In its new form, Puccini's opera was a huge success; it crossed the Atlantic to the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1907. The opera is set in the city of Nagasaki and, according to...