by George Patterson
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

Liping Zhan IS Madama Butterfly

New Orleans operagoers were given a rare treat recently by the New Orleans Opera Association when the Spring season ended with a production of Puccini's hoary melodrama, Madama Butterfly, that starred the world's foremost delineator of the tragic fifteen-year-old Giesha, Cio-Cio-San.

Liping Zhan, a Chinese-Canadian, not only possesses the youth and Oriental characteristics the part calls for, but she has formidible vocal resources. She is a perfect Puccini singer and acquited herself admirably in an otherwise checkered production.

At times the Robert Lyall-conducted Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra seemed to be doing its own thing while the singers had to cope for themselves - singers, with the exception of Ms. Zhan, who were simply not able to push their limited vocal equipment over the roiling sounds of the orchestra as Puccini's masterpiece unspools in its inevitable march to tragedy.

Based on John Luther Long's short story and David Belasco's stage play, this is the first story of how the great differences between American and Japanese cultures lead to tragedy. It is the precursor of many such tales, including the pop opera musical, Miss Saigon.

It is the men who are at fault both in the story itself as well as this particular production; specifically, Joseph Wolverton's Pinkerton, the American Naval Officer who goes through (what is to him a charade) the marriage to the young Japanese girl in turn-of-the-century Nagasaki, in order to sleep with her, which results in her giving birth to a son. Coupled with Brian Montgomery, his friend, Sharpless, the two must wade through an inordinate amount of exposition and recitative in the opening scene before the undetailed, rather barren setting (re-designed by G. Alan Rusnack) is brightened considerably and all notions of dread are expelled with the entrance of the female chorus and the irrepressible Ms. Zhan - suddenly the volume seemed to have been turned up, the opera seemed to come alive and the full house sat up and immediately became involved - the Met met NOOA and showed them a thing or three.

Neither of these male singers were a match for either Ms. Zhang's Butterfly or her servant, Mezzo Soprano Kathleen Hegierski's Susuki. These two women vocally dominated the production. Their Act II duet as they are preparing the house with flowers for Pinkerton's imminent return (he's been gone for three years!) was one of several musical highlights of this production. Ms. Zhan's rendition of the show's major hit song, "One Fine Day," was another one.

Even though he had a very austere mise en scene with which to work, director Garnett Bruce infused the production with several directorial flourishes, the most questionable being Butterfly's ultimate suicide with her father's hari kari sword which she dramatically slices across her throat, dropping instantly to the floor, instead of the slower, traditional disemboweling, this while the unadorned cyclorama is plunged into deepest, most unnatural, melodramatic red in Don Darnutzer's otherwise flat but unobtrusive lighting design.

These criticisms are mere caveats in the face of Liging Zhan's consummate performance which was certainly not delivered in a vacuum. The acting level of the opera was top-notch by the entire ensemble, even down to Trouble (or Sorrow), Pinkerton's young son, mimed beautifully by Jack Duncan.

Krewe of Petronius Sponsors
Opening Night of As Bees in Honey Drown

Douglas Carter Beane's hilarious comedy, As Bees in Honey Drown, about the snookering of a Gay writer by an outrageous "agent," a cross between Sally Bowles, Holly Golightly and Jezebel, played and produced by Francine Segal with Peter Callahan as the hapless would-be Gay celebrity, has its New Orleans premiere May 10, 8pm, at Le Chat Noir and the Krewe of Petronius is sponsoring this opening night. Tickets are available at $20 each from any krewe member or by calling 504.525.4498. The play continues Thurs. - Sat., 8pm, through June 16.