Madama Butterfly
by Giacomo Puccini
Cast
- Cio-Cio-San - Priscilla
Coblenz-Cohen, Liora
Michelle , Victoria
Tralongo
- Pinkerton - Jon Robert Cart,
Paul
McIlvaine, Alvaro Rodriguez
- Sharpless Paul
Corujo, Jose Sacin
- Suzuki - Melissa Kornacki,
Gulnara
Mitzanova, Myeong
Lee
- Goro - Vickie
Kline
- Yakuside - John Fox
- The Bonze - Matthew Robinson
- The Imperial Commissioner - Daryl Christopher
- Kate Pinkerton - Kathryn McDonald,
Amanda
Wagner
- Registrar /Yamadori - Dave Hamilton
- The Mother Kathryn McDonald, Amanda
Wagner
- Trouble - Kyle Kerstetter, Aralynn Turnbaugh
- Geishas - Megan Hauck, Kathryn McDonald,
Phyllis Smith, Amanda
Wagner
- Servants - Dave Hamilton, John Fox
Dates &
Locations
-
Camp Hill United Methodist
Church
417 S, 22nd
St.
Camp
Hill , Pa.
, 17011
Thursday, Nov.5 -
7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 7 - 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 8 - 4 p.m.
-
Eichelberger
Performing Arts Center
195 Stock St.
Hanover
, Pa. , 17331
Friday, Nov. 13 - 7:30 p.m.
-
Women’s Club of York
228. E.
Market St.
York
, Pa. 17403
Saturday, Nov.14 -
7:30 p.m.
- Tickets will be available at the the door.
Checks and Cash only please.
- Camp Hill, York - Adults: $20
Students: $10
- Hanover - Adults $22
Students $12

Synopsis
Act 1:
At the turn of the current century, in the picturesque gardens of a
lovely Japanese villa on the outskirts of Nagasaki, a local marriage
broker, Goro, explains that he has arranged a marriage with an
adolescent Japanese girl for Lieutenant Pinkerton of the United States
Navy. Both the marriage contract and the accompanying rental agreement
for a home are presented to Pinkerton for his pleasure and convenience
during the term of his service in Japan. Both are cancelable upon the
same conditions: thirty days' notice.
When United
States Consul, Sharpless, comes calling, he warns Pinkerton that such
an arrangement invites tragedy. The young lady in question, he says,
Cio-Cio-San, is known as Madame Butterfly because of her femininity and
sensitive nature. Certainly this sort of cavalier treatment will
eventually break her tender heart. The self-indulgent Pinkerton ignores
the older man's advice, making it clear he considers the wedding a
game, that he'll be glad to be married legitimately someday in the
United States to an American woman.
Butterfly
appears, accompanied by her family. She is an innocent girl of fifteen,
who arrives carrying her most precious personal treasures in her sleeve
-- a little jewelry and a dagger her father used to commit suicide on
orders from the Mikado. The marriage ceremony proceeds and the
assemblage toasts the couple. In the midst of a happy moment, the
Bonze, a Japanese priest, sweeps in with a stern denunciation of the
bride. She has forsaken her religion and turned to Christianity in
deference to her new husband, he announces. He declares her an outcast
and the entire family supports his damning judgment.
Pinkerton
sends them all away and proceeds to woo Butterfly. They proclaim their
attraction to one another in a love duet and the curtain falls as the
couple happily enters their new home.
Act 2:
Madame Butterfly has lived alone in the little home above Nagasaki for
three years now. The short marriage with Lieutenant Pinkerton ended
when he returned to America and he hasn't been heard from since. Her
maid and friend, Suzuki, tries to reason with Butterfly about the
distinct possibility that this man will never return. The tragically
loyal Butterfly answers with the aria "Un bel di vedremo," describing
her vision of the Lieutenant's ship reappearing on the horizon and
Pinkerton himself ascending the hill to their home.
The
American consul, Sharpless, arrives with a letter he wishes to read to
Butterfly. However, Goro interrupts to present a potential suitor to
the young woman, an offer she firmly refuses. Knowing the letter he
carries announces the wedding of Pinkerton to an American girl, the
Consul asks Butterfly what will happen if her "husband" never returns.
She declares that impossible, but if it were to be, she says, she would
kill herself. She produces her young son. Sharpless realizes he can't
reason with her and departs.
A cannon from the
harbor announces the docking of Pinkerton's ship. Butterfly and Suzuki
happily prepare the house for his arrival. The scene closes quietly as
the women and child settle down to watch for Pinkerton's appearance on
the hillside path.
Act 3: Trouble
and Suzuki have fallen asleep waiting for the Lieutenant. Only
Butterfly keeps the vigil. The sun is rising, but Pinkerton has yet to
make himself known. Butterfly takes her child to his room to tuck him
into bed, to the tune of a lullaby. At that moment, Consul Sharpless
arrives in the garden, accompanied by Pinkerton and his American wife,
Kate. Realizing what has occurred, Suzuki is brokenhearted. Glancing
around at the once idyllic hideaway where he lived with the lovely
Butterfly, Pinkerton sings a farewell to this home, to the past.
Entering the room once more, Butterfly captures the essence of the
scene immediately. She tells Kate that Pinkerton may have the child if
he will return for him later.
The emotionally
shattered Madame Butterfly blindfolds Trouble, steps behind an
ornamental screen, and stabs herself to death. Pinkerton rushes into
the house calling to her, but his concern comes much too late. He
kneels beside her lifeless body.
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