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Madame Butterfly is ranked number 1 on Opera America’s list of the top 20 most-performed works in North America. Some scholars suggest its tragic tale reflects actual events that occurred in Nagasaki, Japan during the early 1890s. Madame Butterfly passionately explores the consequences of obsessive devotion. Pinkerton, a U.S. Navy officer in Japan, contracts what he considers a temporary marriage to Cio-Cio-San, called Butterfly, who renounces religion and family in her adoration for him. When Pinkerton leaves for America, he promises to return “when the robins nest again.” Butterfly blissfully ignores warnings of his unfaithfulness and adamantly insists that her husband would never forget his son, “Sorrow.” Pinkerton does come back, but Butterfly’s devotion and heart are shattered when she realizes he has not returned for her.

Sung in Italian with English Supertitles

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