Manitoba Live Music Event

About

Tickets at Manitobaopera.mb.ca or call 204-944-8824

Show Description

MUSIC: Giacomo Puccini
LIBRETTO: Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa
Sung in Italian with projected English translations
 
Death before Dishonour
The world’s most beloved opera is the intensely moving story of a devoted young Japanese woman who is loved and betrayed by an American naval officer.
Puccini’s glorious music embodies all the passion and heartbreak of this timeless story of a doomed romance. A deeply emotional experience.
Set in Japan at the dawn of the 20th century, East meets West in this clash of values and traditions.
 
Synopsis
A US Naval officer marries Butterfly, a young Japanese geisha. He views the marriage as temporary while Butterfly, innocent and in love, believes it is forever. The officer departs for America shortly after their marriage. It is three years later and Butterfly, who has borne the man a son, continues to await his return. At last he arrives, but he brings with him an American wife and the intention to take his son to live in the West. Butterfly understands that she has been deserted. Denied an honorable life, she chooses an honorable death and kills herself.