Madama Butterfly (TV 1975)

Director:

Jean-Pierre Ponnelle

Writers:

Giuseppe Giacosa (libretto), Luigi Illica (libretto),

Stars:

Mirella Freni, Plácido Domingo, Christa Ludwig

Cast

Cast overview:
Mirella Freni	...	Cio-Cio-San, known as Butterfly
Plácido Domingo	...	B.F. Pinkerton, lieutenant in the United States Navy
Christa Ludwig	...	Suzuki, Cho-Cho-San's servant
Robert Kerns	...	Sharpless, United States Consul
Michel Sénéchal	...	Goro, marriage broker
Giorgio Stendoro	...	Prince Yamadori
Marius Rintzler	...	The Bonzo
Elke Schary	...	Kate Pinkerton, wife

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

geisha | harbor | puccini opera | conversion | betrayal | 

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Details

Country:

West Germany

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

14 September 1975 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Madame Butterfly

Company Credits

Production Co:

UNITEL, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

146 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The film clearly shows a black US sailor assisting Pinkerton to move into his Japanese home. This is highly unlikely as, sadly, the US Navy was one of the last US institutions to accept black recruits and even as as late as WW2, only permitted them to serve as cooks or cleaners, etc.

User Reviews

Almost perfect video version of Madama Butterfly

I really liked this production as a whole. The scenery was beautiful, almost exactly how I imagined it, and another obvious plus is the phenomenal score by Puccini, very lyrical yet even dramatic in places. The singing was fantastic, Mirella Freni, who I still consider to be the best Mimi of the 20th century no offense to Renata Tebaldi, flawless vocally as Butterfly with wonderful eyes and an expressive face, if perhaps too old for the part. (she is 6 years older than Domingo). Placido Domingo was excellent as Pinkerton, very handsome in looks with superb acting and in fine vocal form too. Also impressive were Robert Kerns as Sharpless and Christa Ludwig as Suzuki, both very sympathetic portrayals of their characters. The orchestra was also excellent, and it showed having the fantastic conductor Herbert Von Karajan bringing the beautiful score to life. In fact, the only complaint I have was Butterfly's death scene, for some reason I didn't think it was dramatic enough. Other than that, beautiful! 8.5/10 Bethany Cox.