Sucharitkul’s Butterfly Collects Garlands

Bangkok, July 15, 2018

by Tomáš Bazika

Somtow Sucharitkul triumphed with Madama Butterfly, Puccini’s great opera, on last Thursday night at the Thailand Cultural Center. Maestro Sucharitkul’s interpretation sounded fresh and fitted to each singer. Singaporean diva Nancy Yuen reprised her signature role as the ill-fated heroine Cio-Cio-San (Butterfly). Yuen and Covent Garden baritone Phillip Joll spearheaded the vocal powers of an international cast assembled by Sucharitkul. Opera Siam’s artistic director helmed the pit and the stage with equal attention, spinning beauty out of the darkness in a tragic love story of a Japanese girl who is abandoned by her American naval officer husband.

Yuen’s voice had both a magnificent resonance and a gentle flow that filled the flawed acoustics of the TCC’s Main Hall. She shifted between sweet girlish colors appropriate for a fifteen-year-old Butterfly and older, hard-edged singing to depict the complexity of her character. In the scene between Butterfly and her loyal maid Suzuki, when Butterfly describes Pinkerton’s parting words, ‘Quell’ultima mattina,’ Yuen conveyed not only Butterfly’s devotion to Pinkerton but also her understanding that her faith in her husband’s devotion has no hope.

Joll embodied the US consul Sharpless with dignity. His singing moved between sympathy for the abandoned Cio-Cio-San and reproach for Israel Lozano’s spineless Pinkerton. Near the end of Act I, Lozano and Yuen imbued the famous duet Bimba dagli occhi ("Sweetheart, with eyes...") with magical delicacy. Lozano’s bright voice and confident articulation made him a strong Pinkerton. The young Thai tenor Chaiporn Pungmalai captured the greasiness of Goro the matchmaker, while Italian mezzo-soprano Emanuela Barazia gracefully expressed the solicitousness of Suzuki.

A simple, unassuming stage design contrasted the richness of singing. Notably, Opera Siam’s production brought out the intricacy of the vocal balances with the voices sometimes deliberately distanced. When Damian Whiteley, a true basso profondo, stepped out from an offstage shadow as Butterfly’s uninvited uncle Bonze, his booming protest to the racially mixed marriage startled the unsuspecting audience. The sense of space was further enhanced by intimate choruses humming from backstage.

Approaching such a familiar opera, one demands something individual, a hint at the artist’s vision of the work. Sucharitkul did this by adding new colors to Puccini’s score while avoiding extravagant melodrama. The conductor kept immaculate pacing and even took liberties with the story. For instance, Pinkerton’s future American wife Kate already appears as one of the foreign guests at Butterfly’s wedding in Nagasaki.

Sucharitkul again proved his aptitude as Italian opera director, but Siam Sinfonietta became the surprise of this gratifying production. Young, but mature in skill, they played with a lush, ravishingly Italianate tone. The rapport between Sucharitkul and the orchestra and their affinity for Puccini were palpable throughout. Their reading was enjoyable not just in the emotional highs, but in subtle moments where the conductor and his players highlighted nuances in phrasing and texture.

There was no scarcity of passion at the great climaxes. When Butterly returns from backstage, holding in her arms the blonde-haired two-year-old boy, who constantly reminds her of her husband’s betrayal, Yuen’s hopeful tone belied a deep wound. In the final scene of Act III, Yuen brought nobility to Cio-Cio-San’s demise, a devastation compounded by the innocence of her blindfolded child, who does not know about his mother’s suicide.

As the curtain fell, this winged performance of Madama Butterfly earned a fluttering applause from an excited audience. Only the lack of refreshments at the reception and during the intermission took away from a complete enjoyment.